Addicted
by sunshine-in-writing
Summary: Kuchiki Byakuya enjoys watching his fukutaicho sleep. This leads to several awkward conversations and a spurt of jealousy or two, as well as a slightly fumbled courting request. Then Ichimaru Gin comes back, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket. Yaoi. Lemon. Etcetera. Set in a vague time frame not really coinciding with canon at all.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo! So it has been like a small forever since I've posted anything at all, on this site or any other, BUT I HAVE A REASON!!! I am currently spending four and a half months abroad, in Guatemala, India and Uganda. WOOT! Super exciting. But since it's half over and I keep on getting these pesky little emails telling me that people keep on favoriting my stories, I thought that I would start something completely new for me. There are several reasons why it's new -**

**1, it's the first time I've ever posted a Bleach fanfic.**

**2, it's the first time I've ever tried a drabble story.**

**3, it's the first time I've ever posted a story without typing it out first!!!**

**That's right ladies and gentlemen, this chapter is hot off the press with no editing beyond my own keen eyes (and spellcheck)! The chapters will hopefully be posted every day or every other day, will probably not exceed 2000 words, and will be related to each other! This is not a series of oneshots!**

**YOSH! Let's get this show on the road!**

-

-Addicted-

-

Abarai Renji, fukutaicho of the 6th Division of Seireitei's Gotei 13, was drooling on his papers again.

His taicho, Kuchiki Byakuya, sighed in annoyance.

He should be used to this by now, the taicho thought as he stared at his second-in-command. Almost every day without fail, Renji would fall asleep on the paperwork he was supposed to be filling out and not wake up again until Byakuya tipped him out of his chair on his way out the door. The Kuchiki, while secretly envying Renji for his ability to completely blow off authority, knew that any work Abarai-fukutaicho did not finish today would simply be added to his load tomorrow...which was steadily increasing, rather than decreasing.

Bored, and in the safety of his own office, Byakuya propped his chin in one hand and amused himself by flicking tiny balls of reiatsu at his sleeping second. He made sure that they were of low enough spiritual pressure that they would just bounce off of Renji's own reiatsu, and enjoyed watching them spin around the room like never-ending fireworks. When that too became boring, the taicho shifted his attention to Renji's tattoos.

They were wild, his tattoos...utterly and completely in defiance of authority. But they were beautiful, Byakuya had to admit. They suited the young redhead and his equally wild zanpakuto. Out of curiosity, the Kuchiki spread out his reiatsu and covered one of the jagged marks on his fukutaicho's neck.

It disappeared.

Kuchiki Byakuya smirked.

Carefully, oh so carefully, he removed the white headband that covered Renji's forehead and laid it on the desk. Then, with small, carefully contained bursts of reiatsu, he covered all of the tattoos on Renji's face and neck. Then he replaced the headband and returned to his seat. His reiatsu was so strong that Renji wouldn't notice that parts of it were sticking to him until he got far away from his taicho. It was the perfect revenge for a man who so rarely showed his emotions.

Satisfied with this result, Kuchiki-taicho worked for several hours more, until the sun began to set and his clock told him that it was six o' clock; time to go home. With a long sigh, he stood and piled all of his papers into neat stacks, then crossed the room to stand in front of his fukutaicho. With a sweep of reiatsu, he knocked the legs of the chair out from underneath Renji, sending the redhead sprawling.

"Huh!? What!? Who...!?" Renji flipped onto his feet, taking a ready stance and looking around wildly before catching sight of Byakuya. "Oh...taicho! Er...did I fall asleep again...?" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Byakuya simply stared at him, head tilted slightly to the side. "Abarai," he stated, "Your tattoos have disappeared."

Renji's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "WHAT!?" He dashed to the connected bathroom and stared at the mirror. "OH MY GOD!!!" As Byakuya watched, the fukutaicho began frantically ripping at his clothes, pulling off the top part of his uniform to bare his chest. "Oh thank god," he sighed in relief. "At least these ones are still there. Do you have any idea what happened, Kuchiki-taicho? Why'd my tattoos disappear all of a sudden?"

Byakuya blinked, for some reason disconcerted by the sight of his second's bared chest. It wasn't like he'd never seen Renji shirtless before - perhaps he was thrown off because it was the first time he had seen him when he wasn't covered in blood? "I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea, Abarai-fukutaicho," he answered. "I do not make a habit of staring at you while there is work to be done."

_Liar,_ his mind whispered traitorously.

"Right, of course," Renji muttered distractedly, feeling his face and neck, tracing the spots where there should have been jagged black lines. "Nothing ever gets in the way of your duty, taicho." Byakuya felt a slight twinge of pain in his chest at these words, remembering a time when he had nearly allowed his own little sister to be executed because of a misplaced sense of duty. "I suppose I'll just have to get them redone," Renji moaned, pulling his uniform back on and successfully pulling his taicho back into the present. "This is _terrible_...I've never heard of anything like this happening before..."

"If that is all, Abarai, then I am going to leave for home," Byakuya said, turning away and heading for the door. "Your paperwork has increased again, and I expect you to do _all_ of it tomorrow. The Sixth Division does not slack off on anything."

"Hai, taicho," Renji muttered dispiritedly. Byakuya regally swept from the building, hiding his smile through years of practice. Renji followed, then disappeared off towards his own home while the Kuchiki headed towards his estate.

-

Renji frowned ferociously all the way back to his apartment. How could his tattoos possibly have just disappeared? It was impossible. Or...improbable, at the very least. And Renji had the feeling that his taicho knew more than he was telling.

Sighing, he untied his obi and slung Zabimaru onto the couch, heading into his bedroom to change out of his uniform. Halfway through undressing, the redhead frowned and paused, realizing something odd. Although he was practically on the other side of Seireitei from Byakuya, he could feel his taicho's reiatsu as though he was in the room. Not nearly as overpowering, of course, but something on Renji had some of Byakuya's reiatsu attached to it...and the fukutaicho's eyes widened.

His hands shot to his face and neck, and with a blast of his own reiatsu, he dissolved the effects of his taicho's spiritual energy. He slowly turned to face the mirror on the wall...

"TAICHO!!!!!"

-

On the other side of Seireitei, in the Noble's Quarter, Kuchiki Byakuya lifted his head from his cup of tea as he felt his fukutaicho's reiatsu spike wildly. "Oh," he murmured, taking a sip of tea, "he must have figured it out then." A smirk curled his lips upward.

"Tomorrow should definitely be an interesting day at the office."

-

-

-

**BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Abarai Renji was sleeping..._again._

Byakuya scowled at his fukutaicho. This was really becoming Not Okay. No matter how attractive Renji's sleeping face was, the Kuchiki should _not_ be seeing it during working hours.

Outside of working hours, however, he'd be much more receptive to the idea.

Byakuya shook his head viciously. _Those are not appropriate thoughts to be having about my fukutaicho!_ To distract himself, he sent a blade of reiatsu arrowing towards Renji's chair, smashing the back legs and dropping Renji in a heap.

"Augh!" Renji flailed to his feet, looking around wildly. "Ta - taicho!" he gasped. "Gomenasai!"

"Work, Abarai," Byakuya said, infusing his cold voice with a hint of steel. "I assume you are familiar with the concept?"

Renji ducked his head, looking guilty. "Hai, taicho," he mumbled.

"Good. Then get to it."

"Erm...taicho...my chair?" the shinigami asked hesitantly.

"Since you seem incapable of working with it, I have removed it. You may stand."

Renji gaped for a moment, then closed his mouth with a click and nodded. "Hai, taicho," he said again, morosely.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Renji gaped at his taicho. "We get to go to the human world?" He grinned widely. "Can we stop and annoy the berry while we're there?"

"After our work," Byakuya replied. "There are reports of a Menos Grande in the area. We are supposed to deal with it." He leveled a look at his rambunctious fukutaicho. "_Quietly_."

"Of course, of course," Renji waved a hand impatiently as he hopped around the office, trying to buckle on his zanpakuto and redo his hair at the same time. With a hiss of impatience, Byakuya swept across the room in a flurry of black and white robes and grabbed the redhead's belt from his hand, fastening it quickly and expertly.

"Honestly, Abarai, do you ever stop to actually _think_ about what you're doing?" Byakuya looked up and then froze, suddenly realizing that he was practically pressed along Renji's entire front. His hands stilled on the belt, and for a moment his mind was completely devoid of any thoughts as to what to do about the situation. Then Renji grinned, teeth flashing white against his tanned face and black tattoos, and Byakuya was released from his paralysis.

"Usually only when I'm about to start a fight, Kuchiki-taicho." Byakuya blinked, then realized that Renji was answering his previous question. His hands loosened on the belt and the noble stepped back, regaining his composure without his second ever being aware that he had lost it in the first place.

_This is unacceptable,_ Byakuya fumed as he led the way out of the 6th Division's headquarters. _I cannot keep losing my composure around my fukutaicho! This has never been a problem before!_ But, Byakuya realized, that was not entirely true. Renji had always given him reason to pause, ever since the young redhead had first crashed into the room at the academy while Byakuya was meeting Rukia for the first time. It was only more recently—since Renji had visited him in the hospital after Aizen's betrayal—that Renji had begun affecting him more and more strongly. But why?

Wrapped up in his confusing thoughts, Byakuya did not notice the concerned frown on his fukutaicho's face as they walked.

—

"Wonder how long it'll take the berry to show up," Renji mused, propping Zabimaru on one shoulder as he and Byakuya surveyed the Real World from a rooftop. "This is his town, right?"

"Yes," Byakuya said shortly. "Even though Aizen has been defeated, the creatures he created are still around, and are drawn here because of the high concentration of reiatsu. I have no doubt that the Menos Grande is here for the same purpose."

"Well then, let's get started!" Renji grinned, sheathing his sword in preparation for shunpo. "Can't let it eat the berry!"

"Hn," Byakuya agreed, and turned his head, seeking…There. To the west. "Let's go." He engaged shunpo, knowing without looking that Renji was following.

They arrived in less than a minute, and Byakuya gestured for Renji to step back as he unsheathed Senbonzakura. "I would like to handle this myself, Renji."

"'Kay," Renji replied, not at all averse to watching his taicho do what he did best, and Byakuya stepped forward to engage the Menos Grande.

"Oi!" Ichigo popped up next to the red-haired shinigami, zanpakuto at the ready. "What are you doing here, Pineapple-head?"

"Oh, hey Ichigo," Renji said vaguely, eyes fixed on the battle in front of him. "Don't talk to me, I'm tryin' to watch Kuchiki-taicho fight."

"Er…okay," Ichigo said uncertainly, and turned to watch the fight as well.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," both men clearly heard several minutes later, even though the battle was a ways away and Byakuya never raised his voice.

"It's a wrap," Renji sighed mournfully. He loved watching his taicho fight. He loved fighting him even more, but watching came in a close second. "Once taicho gets tired of playing with them and releases his senkai, that's it. See, look—sweep left, then right," he mirrored the sword's movements with his hand, "Then slash straight forward and—game over." He sighed as the Menos burst into shards of light. "Man," he groaned, "I wish Kuchiki-taicho didn't always finish his battles so quickly."

"Damn!" Ichigo gasped, having stood slack-jawed throughout the entire fight. "No wonder Byakuya's so feared! He's incredible!"

Renji grinned proudly. "That's right, you've always been on the receiving end of his techniques, haven't you? I love watching him play." He hopped off the roof and began floating towards his taicho.

"Hang on, hang on," Ichigo said, catching Renji's shoulder and turning him around. "Two questions. How'd you know his sword was gonna move like that?"

Renji gave him a patient look. "I told you, I love watching him play. I know his sword almost as well as my own."

"And that leads to my other question," Ichigo said. He leaned close in and said quietly, "Why do you call his fights 'playing'?"

Renji gave him a blank look. "What else should I call it?"

Turning away from the other shinigami with a wave, the redhead joined his captain, who for some reason looked angry. Well, he looked normal to the unpracticed eye, but Renji was certainly not unpracticed. "Hey, what's wrong, taicho?" he asked in concern.

"Nothing," Byakuya snapped, staring off after Ichigo with what could almost be called a glare. He turned with a swish of robes and led the way back to Seireitei, a baffled fukutaicho in his wake.

—

Byakuya stalked towards the 6th Division headquarters, people hurrying out of his path as he went. Every comment Renji had made over the last several hours about Ichigo ran through his head like a never-ending reel.

_"Can we stop and annoy the berry while we're there?"_

_"Wonder how long it'll take the berry to show up?"  
_

_"Can't let it eat the berry!"_

Of course, of _course_, it all made sense now. Byakuya was unsure of why he was so mad; just that the sight of Ichigo and Renji sharing a long kiss before Renji joined him had made him very angry indeed. "In the future," he said sharply, "Please confine all activities with your lover to times when there might not be enemies rapidly approaching."

Renji nearly fell flat on his face. "_What_?" he spluttered. "Me…and the _berry_? No way! Where—"

"I saw you two kissing just now," Byakuya said shortly, not wanting to elaborate any more on the subject.

"We didn't kiss!" Renji replied, faintly outraged. "He was just asking me a question!"

Byakuya blinked, more relieved than he would like to admit. "Oh."

**Erm...*sweatdrop* I am a terrible person. I've had this chapter written up for almost two weeks, and I didn't post it!!! I had this crazy idea that I could get my older sister to beta for me, but she's crazy busy and I'm in Uganda, so it doesn't really work all that well...So I'm posting it unbetaed! As they shall be from now on!!! Please let me know if you find any discrepancies in the canon (what little there is of it), because I haven't read all of the series yet!!!**

**Lara**


	3. Chapter 3

**Right, I just want to clarify a couple things about the storyline. Since I have not finished the series (and can do whatever I want with my story), I imagine in my happy little world that Ichigo killed Aizen when he went to Hueco Mundo to save Inoue. Las Noches fell into chaos and...well...yeah. If you don't read this notice and then leave a review saying you're confused about the storyline, I will laugh hysterically and send you a snarky reply telling you to pay more attention to A/Ns. I know some authors write them just to write them (or answer reviews in them - there is such a thing as a review reply button!X() but I only write A/Ns when I have something important to say! SO READ THEM!!!**

Byakuya lowered his sword to his side, looking around. The members of 6th Division who had just been fighting him slumped to the ground, panting hard. Some of the men's muscles were trembling so hard from overexertion that they could barely keep their hands closed around their weapons. They made sure that they could, though; Kuchiki-taicho was scary when you dropped your weapon.

"Anyone else?" Byakuya said, looking around at the shinigami lining the walls. Many of them had already been up against him and were trying to overcome their exhaustion. Others gripped their zanpakuto tightly, prepping themselves for their futile battle against their taicho.

"How about me, taicho?" a deep voice asked, and a murmur swept through the division. Renji stepped through the crowd, a hand on his sword hilt and a grin lighting up his face. A collective sigh of relief and anticipation went through the assembled shinigami; watching their taicho and fukutaicho fight would both save them from exhausting themselves and give them an incredible show.

"Bankai?" Byakuya asked, squaring off against his second. Everyone else hurriedly backed to the edge of the training grounds.

"Why not?" Renji replied, drawing his zanpakuto with a ring of steel. "But you'll allow me to get warmed up, won't you?" Byakuya inclined his head slightly. "Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji shouted, and his reiatsu filled the air as Zabimaru transformed. The sword dug gouges out of the earth as he walked forward.

"Do you think you can defeat my shikai with yours?" Byakuya asked. His own reiatsu began to grow in response to Renji's release.

"Can't hurt to try, right?" Renji grinned, sending his sword whipping through the air with a flick of his wrist. Several shinigami leapt out of the way as Zabimaru dug its teeth into the ground.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," Byakuya murmured. Zabimaru moved in a blur as Renji worked to deflect the many razor-thin blades that came shooting towards him. He succeeded for the most part, though several blades got through to slice his clothing and one drew a thin line of blood on his cheek. "Not bad," the noble commented, drawing the petal-like blades back to dance around him. "You've gotten much quicker at deflecting them."

"I've had plenty of practice, haven't I, taicho?" Renji grinned. A solitary drop of blood trickled down his cheek to pool at the corner of his lips, and he licked it away. Byakuya's eyes tracked the movement of his tongue until it disappeared back into his mouth.

"You certainly have," the noble acknowledged the subtle dig at his quick temper and his tendency to release his zanpakuto on his fukutaicho. But, he reasoned, he would never release it if he were not sure that Renji could take it.

With a flick of his wrist, Renji sent Zabimaru whistling through the air at his captain. Byakuya leapt lightly out of the way and sent his blades whirling after the redhead again. With Zabimaru extended, Renji had no defense against the attack, and suffered several cuts before he could bring his zanpakuto back to defend.

"That is your weakness," Byakuya told him as they both regrouped and prepared to attack again. "You cannot attack and defend at the same time." In a flurry of pink, the blades rushed forward, forcing Renji to stay on the defensive. Then Byakuya sucked in a tiny breath of surprise and jumped aside, barely avoiding Zabimaru's end as it thudded into the ground right where he had been standing. With no time to jump again and already off-balance, the noble raised his blade just in time to divert his fukutaicho's blade as it curved around, aiming for his heart. He was not entirely successful; one of the spikes tore into his shoulder as it passed.

"Really, taicho?" Renji grinned fiercely, wiping his face and then licking the blood off the back of his hand. Again Byakuya's eyes were drawn to the sight of his tongue. "Looks like I can attack and defend, just like you can."

"But you do not seem to be as successful," Byakuya pointed out. It was true—Renji was bleeding in many places now, and some were fairly serious.

"Eh," Renji shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll just have to practice." He drew Zabimaru back in, though he did not dismiss his shikai. "But I'm about done with this playing, aren't you, taicho? Let's get started."

"Playing?" whispered one of the watching shinigami. "I was sure both of them were gonna die in that last attack!"

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," snorted Ikakku, third seat of the 11th Division. "They're both just gettin' started."

"I-Ikakku-san!" The shinigami snapped to attention. "What are you doing here? These are the Sixth Division's training grounds!"

"Are you stupid?" Ikakku drawled. "Take a look around."

Spread around the edge of the grounds were five fukutaicho and—the shinigami gulped—both the 11th and 2nd Division taicho. "Why…why is everyone here?" he gasped.

"When Renji releases his reiatsu, and Kuchiki-taicho releases his right afterwards, everyone in the whole city knows what's up," Ikakku replied. "Watching them fight is one of my favorite things to do. Besides fighting Renji myself, that is."

"You…er…don't like fighting Kuchiki-taicho?"

Ikakku let out a bark of laughter. "You really are stupid! Nobody in this city will fight your taicho except for Renji and Zaraki-taicho. Well, Ichigo would," he added as an afterthought, "But he doesn't live here so he doesn't count. Anyway—" he was interrupted by a shout.

"Bankai! Hihio Zabimaru!" Renji shouted, and the ground shuddered as a huge snake skeleton appeared. "Are you ready, taicho?" he inquired as a baboon pelt settled over his shoulders.

"Bankai," Byakuya replied. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Everyone collectively drew a breath as both bankai were revealed in their full glory.

"Here we go," Ikakku murmured. "Don't blink or you'll miss it."

But it was nearly impossible to keep watching. As the two powerful shinigami met in battle with explosive force, flying earth and oppressive reiatsu forced the onlookers to scatter and seek vantage points further away. A laughing Ikakku found himself next to his taicho—and, he noticed, his fukutaicho, who was clinging in her usual spot on Zaraki Kenpachi's broad back. "The 6th Division's gonna need a new training ground, I think," he grinned.

Zaraki grunted his agreement, eyes fixed on the fight. "Kuchiki never agrees to fight _me_," he grumbled.

"Don't worry, Ken-chan!" chirped Yachiru-fukutaicho, popping her head over his shoulder. "He's just scared you'll win!"

"I don't think that's the reason," Ikakku muttered, watching the smile on Byakuya's face as he fought his fiery fukutaicho. "I think Renji's just special."


	4. Chapter 4

"But he _bullies_ you, Renji!"

Byakuya froze midstep, tilting his head toward the room where the fukutaicho held their meetings. He hurriedly masked his reiatsu completely and moved a little closer to the door.

"He does _not_ bully me, Izuru, stop being so dramatic," came Renji's exasperated voice from inside the room. Byakuya frowned slightly; who did Kira think was capable of bullying his strong-willed fukutaicho? Renji would knock anyone flat on their ass for even trying.

"It sure looks like bullying from where we stand, Abarai," said another voice. That was Hisagi-fukutaicho; Byakuya recognized him instantly. But _who _were they talking about!? Anyone who tried to bully Renji again would get Senbonzakura in the face. "Or if it's not bullying, it's abuse, which is even worse. Abuse of power, abuse of position; seriously, Abarai, you should talk to someone about it."

Abuse? Who was abusing their power over _his_ fukutaicho? Byakuya's hand tightened on the hilt of Senbonzakura. All he needed was a name…

"I swear, you guys, Byakuya does _not_ abuse me!" Renji snapped. Byakuya suddenly felt slightly dizzy. "We fight a lot 'cause he's got a temper and I've got a temper! I know his shikai almost better than my own! He has pushed me to become better and stronger and faster than I ever was!"

"But do you guys actually ever talk, Renji?" Kira asked quietly. "I talked with my taicho practically every day—about the division, about the Gotei 13, about who's having problems and who's gotten better. I don't think I've ever heard Kuchiki-taicho say something to you that wasn't an order."

Hisagi voiced his agreement. "A fukutaicho's job is to take care of his taicho and keep him informed of what's happening in the division. In return, the taicho's supposed to take care of the entire division and make sure that everyone is serving Seireitei to the best of their ability." His voice lowered. "Kuchiki-taicho didn't even notice when you achieved _bankai_, Renji."

"That's 'cause I was a mile underground in a specially warded training room," Renji growled.

"Oh come on, Renji!" Kira cried. "I had known for months that you were almost there! Did your taicho?"

"I don't know. I never asked."

"See, there's your problem," Hisagi pointed out.

"So what do you expect me to do?" Renji asked sarcastically. "Go up to the Captain Commander and say, 'hey, my captain releases his shikai on me at least twice a week and my friends think that's a problem'?"

"I think you should maybe consider talking to Unohana-taicho," Kira said. "It's not just us, Renji. Even Kyoraku-taicho has commented on your weird relationship with him. I think you should talk to _somebody._"

"No," Renji said quietly. His friends started to protest, but he cut them off. "The duty of a fukutaicho is to take care of his taicho. Isn't that right? In my eyes Byakuya has done nothing wrong. I will not risk him being brought under scrutiny for something that I can fix. I'll try talking to him more, okay? I've been dealing with the division's problems just fine for years, and I actually don't think that that's something my taicho can do. If you haven't noticed," and he chuckled slightly, "Byakuya isn't all that great at connecting to people. And I swear, you guys, I don't mind when taicho gets mad at me. It's actually kinda fun."

"You," Kira declared, "Are a masochist."

"I am not!" Renji laughed. The conversation turned lighter then, both fukutaicho teasing Renji about his supposedly masochistic tendencies, and Renji returning with a remark about how at least _he_ didn't have the name of a sex position tattooed on his face. Hisagi acknowledged that as a valid hit, which confused Byakuya. 69? He didn't know any (he blushed slightly) sex positions named 69.

But that only distracted him for a short while, and the noble's thoughts soon returned to the conversation he had overheard.

"_The taicho's supposed to take care of the entire division and make sure that everyone's serving Seireitei to the best of their ability."_

Had he ever done that? For years he had been so concerned with doing his duty to the city and to his family that he had completely lost sight of his division. Byakuya's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. Renji had said that he was taking care of the division's problems; was that why he was always so tired at the end of the day? Because he was doing both his job and his taicho's? Byakuya's eyes narrowed. No more, he told himself firmly. Renji would never again have to defend his against the other fukutaicho's accusations.

"…_If it's not bullying, it's abuse, which is even worse."_

Byakuya actually flinched as the memory of Hisagi's words floated through his mind. But it wasn't like that! He reasoned desperately. Renji didn't think of it like that, and neither did he! He just…

Threw his shikai at him whenever he felt out of sorts. Byakuya actually felt a little sick to his stomach. Why hadn't Renji ever said anything?

Because he was loyal to his captain. Renji was loyal far beyond what he deserved, Byakuya thought bleakly. But no longer. The noble was going to do his best to fulfill the duties where he had been lacking, and…

"_I don't think I've ever heard Kuchiki-taicho say something to you that wasn't an order."_

…And talk to his fukutaicho much more frequently. It was clear that Renji knew more about the 6th Division than he did, and Byakuya wanted to take advantage of the fact. With this resolve firmly in mind, the Kuchiki turned to the door and slid it open.

And gaped. Internally, of course. Externally his eyes only widened slightly. While he had been thinking, the three fukutaicho's conversation had turned more physical, and Renji was currently grappling playfully with both Hisagi and Kira as they rolled around on the floor. It showed a level of familiarity and camaraderie with his fukutaicho that Byakuya had never even known existed, and he was abruptly and foolishly jealous.

"Abarai-fukutaicho. Kira-fukutaicho. Hisagi-fukutaicho." The three men froze, looking up at him like little boys caught in the act of stealing sweets. "I'm afraid I must ask for my fukutaicho's assistance."

"Hai, taicho!" Renji said, extracting himself with some difficulty and approaching with alacrity. Byakuya smiled at him very slightly and led the way back to their headquarters.

"So, Abarai, how goes the division's training?"

* * *

**Huzzah! Yay for Byakuya! This is going to be the last chapter for a while, because I'm heading back to the States in a few days and will be in the process of traveling for almost a week. Then after that I won't have access to a computer for another week, so it's gonna be after the 22nd when I'll update again. But I have up to chapter 15 already written out, so updates should come thick and fast after that! I honestly have no idea how long this story is going to be; I'm having a lot of fun writing it, but I don't want it to be too long - 25 chapters is usually my limit. So we shall see! ^_^ I hope everyone is enjoying this as much as I am! Please let me know if I get anything wrong!**

**~Lara**


	5. Chapter 5

Abarai Renji was confused. Very confused. And slightly suspicious, as well. And it all had to do with his taicho.

_Doesn't it always have to do with my taicho?_ Renji thought to himself as he leapt lightly from rooftop to rooftop on his way to the Kuchiki estate. _I mean, he's seriously starting to worry me! All of this concern about the division and how everyone's doing and stuff. Does he think I'm not doing my job?_ The thought was almost enough to halt him in his tracks, but the thought of the message that he was carrying spurred him onward. _No, that can't be it, _he decided. _Otherwise he would just tell me to fix whatever was wrong. Maybe he's just decided to take a bigger interest in the division's doings. Well, I hope that's the case, especially with this new…development._

He landed in front of the Kuchiki estate and rang the bell, forcing himself to wait patiently, hand on his sword hilt, for someone to answer the gate.

He lasted five minutes before he rang the bell again. Again, there was no answer. Was everybody still sleeping or something? Renji knew that there was no way his taicho was asleep; Byakuya was a morning person, rarely rising even an hour after sunrise. He rang the bell one more time, waited, then hopped lightly over the wall and into the compound.

Renji had never been inside the Kuchiki family estate before. He had stared at the walls for years, hating them for hiding Rukia from him, but never once had he been inside. Now that he was…well, he wished he had more time to appreciate the décor. Instead he pinpointed his taicho's reiatsu and headed quickly in that direction.

Byakuya was performing a sword dance in a back garden. When Renji rounded the corner and saw him, his jaw dropped in awe.

It was _beautiful_. There was no other way to describe it. Renji stood for several minutes just watching, then snapped out of it, remembering that he was there for a reason. "Kuchiki-taicho!" he called. Byakuya did not pause.

"Yes, Renji?" he murmured.

"I have a message from the Captain Commander."

"Why didn't he send a Hell Butterfly?"

"He didn't want to risk it being overheard or intercepted."

"I see. Well, what is it?"

Renji eyed Byakuya's sword uncertainly. "You…er…might want to put your sword down for this one, taicho."

"Why?"

"It's rather shocking news."

"I'm sure I'll survive."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I will. Please, taicho. For the sake of my peace of mind."

Byakuya sighed and spun to a halt, resting his sword at his side. "All right. Report."

Renji gulped and eyed Senbonzakura nervously. "Ichimaru Gin has returned and surrendered."

A nearby copse of trees disappeared, shredded into sawdust by Byakuya's unintentional release of his shikai. More than half expecting it, Renji ducked as shards of bark flew overhead. As suddenly as the flare of reiatsu began, it ended, pulled back under control by the taicho, who had not moved in the slightest.

"I apologize," Byakuya said, voice and face unchanging. "You surprised me."

"S'okay," Renji replied, crushing chips off his sleeves as he stood up straight again. "I had a similar reaction when he showed up." He smiled sheepishly. "Except I destroyed a street."

"You have seen him then?" inquired the noble.

"Yeah, I was right there when he popped out of Hueco Mundo. I was the one he surrendered to." Renji paused, choosing his words with care. "He's…changed, taicho. He no longer smiles that annoying, blithe smile of his. That more than anything convinces me that he's serious about this shit." He shook his head, following Byakuya inside as the Kuchiki moved to change into his captain's uniform. "Shuuhei's flipping out, he showed up right after I brought Ichimaru to the Captain Commander. I guess he sensed his reiatsu and followed us."

"Shuuhei?" Byakuya tilted his head, not sure who his fukutaicho meant. "Oh…you mean Hisagi-fukutaicho? Wasn't he courting Ichimaru before he left?"

"Yeah. Well, he was trying. I guess he's feeling really betrayed at the moment. He volunteered to be Ichimaru's guard while he's imprisoned. The Captain Commander wants all of the captains and seconds at headquarters as soon as possible, to hear his testimony."

Byakuya nodded absently, untying the plain obi that held his yukata together. Then he paused, robe halfway down his arms, and looked over his shoulder at his fukutaicho. "Do you mind, Renji? I would like to change."

"Go right ahead, taicho," Renji said, grinning a little dazedly. "Don't let me stop you."

With an exasperated huff, Byakuya shrugged his yukata back on and turned around. Holding it closed with one hand, he used the other to push his impertinent second out into the hallway, refusing to acknowledge the heat in his cheeks and hoping against hope that Renji didn't notice.

Unfortunately for him, Renji did notice, and it only served to increase his dazed state of mind. Once the traditional shogi door had been slammed behind him, he simply stood there blankly for a long moment as his mind tried to process all of the new information he had just received.

"Taicho has pink nipples," he said to no one in particular.

There was a muffled squeak from the room behind him, and the door slammed open again. "Renji!" Byakuya glared. "That was completely inappropriate!"

Renji turned to face him. "Why?" he asked, gesturing at the shinigami's still-bare chest. "It's true." Byakuya looked down, gave a tiny gasp and slammed the door shut again.

He emerged several minutes later, composure (and clothes) firmly back in place. "Let's go," he said calmly, and Renji fell into step just behind his right shoulder, acknowledging his taicho's unspoken desire to avoid the subject of the rather awkward morning.

For Renji, though, forgetting it was impossible.

* * *

**WOOT WOOT! Yay! I got back sooner than I thought, so, as a coming-home present for myself, I decided to post another chapter! Y'all better inundate my inbox with reviews, or I'll start to think you don't like my story! *sniff* ... anyway, I plan on updating every other day now, so expect to see a lot more of this story! ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

Byakuya and Renji arrived at headquarters at the time as several of their compatriots. Exchanging terse nods, they all entered the building without words. They could all sense it now; though suppressed, Ichimaru Gin's reiatsu was familiar and unmistakable. It proved that the unbelievable report was true—one of the three traitorous captains had returned and surrendered.

Ichimaru was sitting in the center of the room, reiatsu-suppressing cuffs around his wrists and Hisagi leaning casually on his unsheathed sword right next to him. It was clear that he was not going anywhere.

"Maa maa!" Ichimaru managed a convincing imitation of his usual smile. "Everyone's gathered because of me? Really, ya shouldn' have!"

"Shut up, Ichimaru," growled Soi Fon, "Before I cut your tongue out."

The ex-captain winced. "As charmin' as ever, I see."

Soi Fon smiled sweetly. "With you I don't even have to make an effort. Captain Commander, can I kill him?"

"Hey, get in line!" Hisagi snapped, straightening up. Renji was probably the only one in the room to see the pain and sadness flicker briefly over Ichimaru's face.

"There will be no killing of the prisoner without a fair trial first," Captain Commander Yamamoto said firmly. "Everyone please take a seat."

Renji firmly took the seat directly to Byakuya's right, and the other fukutaicho followed his example, sitting next to their taicho instead of across from them as was usual. Renji liked this positioning a lot better; it meant that the seconds could actually discuss with their captains what their decision as a division was going to be, rather than simply bowing to whatever their taicho said.

"So," Yamamoto said, folding his hands on the table. "Ichimaru Gin. You claim to be willing to surrender to the Gotei 13 and any punishment we feel justified. Why?"

Ichimaru was silent for a long moment. "Tosen is dead," he said finally. "I killed him. I actually brought his head back with me, where's my head, Abarai-fukutaicho?" He turned to look at Renji.

"Oh, I left it outside the Commander's office 'cause it was still leaking blood," Renji said, half-rising. "Would you like me to go get it?"

"Please," Yamamoto said, and Renji hurried out of the room. Ichimaru watched him go.

"That man is deadly coming _and_ going," he murmured. Byakuya stiffened at his words, hand itching to draw Senbonzakura. Hisagi had no such compunction, and his blade flicked out, nicking his ex-captain's sleeve.

"I think you have more important things to worry about, don't you?" he smiled sweetly.

"I think you may be right," Ichimaru agreed, eyeing the bared blade warily.

Renji soon reappeared, carrying the head by the hair. Most of the blood had dripped out of the severed neck, but the fukutaicho had prudently wrapped a towel around the base, just in case. He placed it in front of Commander Yamamoto and turned it so that everyone could clearly see that it was, in fact, Tosen's head.

"Interesting," Yamamoto murmured. "So tell us, Ichimaru, why did you kill your ally?"

"'E'd gone mad," the prisoner said simply, shrugging. "And 'e tried ta rape me."

"Gone mad?" Byakuya said.

"He tried to _rape_ you?" Renji and Hisagi chorused.

Ichimaru ignored the fukutaicho's outraged question and focused instead on Byakuya. "Yeah, lost 'is marbles, gone 'round the bend, jumped off the deep end. Gone mad. 'E was even worse than Kurotsuchi-taicho with 'is crazy ideas."

"What kind of crazy ideas?" Byakuya asked, talking over the 12th Division captain's protests that his ideas were _not_ crazy.

"Well, 'e wanted ta get me pregnant," Ichimaru said thoughtfully. "I think that was why 'e tried ta rape me. 'E said that Aizen made me capable of carryin' before 'e died, which I just don' believe." His expression grew frozen, which made the assembled shinigami sit up and take notice. "Aizen did do many experiments on both me and Tosen, though, so ya migh' wanna check me over ta make sure I'm not gonna go berserk and kill you all, Unohana-taicho."

"Of course, Ichimaru-san," the soft-spoken captain of the 4th replied. "I would've insisted on a full physical anyway."

"What other kinds of crazy ideas did Tosen have?" interjected the Commander.

Ichimaru shrugged. "Ideas about recreatin' the Hogyoku, breedin' arrancar…things like that. 'E was 'specially interested in the vizards, but ya don' hafta worry 'bout that; their leader sent 'im packin' when 'e tried ta contact them. Why does this matter? 'E's dead."

"If someone else—one of the surviving arrancar, for example—tries to follow in his or Aizen's footsteps, we need to know what we might be facing," replied Yamamoto. "It could mean the difference between success and defeat. Do you know how many arrancar are left?"

Ichimaru scratched his head, handcuffs clanking. "Of the Espada? No more'n three, I think. Grimmjow's still aroun', I saw 'im right before I left. And if 'e's around, then so is Ulquiorra. Of the other arrancar I have no idea."

"Why is Ulquiorra's presence tied to Grimmjow's?" Unohana-taicho asked.

Ichimaru grinned. "Neither is gonna die without the other, trust me."

"Trust in you's in short supply at the moment," Hisagi snapped, hand clenching on his sword hilt.

The smile disappeared as though it had never been. "Of course. Just an expression, fukutaicho."

—

After questioning the traitorous captain until he was utterly exhausted, the leaders of the Gotei 13 had a 2nd Division member take him away so they could decide on a verdict.

Hitsugaya-taicho sighed, propping his elbows on the table and massaging his temples. "What're we gonna do with him?"

"I vote we lock him in a cell until he dies," growled Hisagi, taking a seat.

"I think he should do community service," Unohana-taicho said calmly. "Bind his reiatsu and make him come work with me for a specified amount of time. It would teach him humility and show him the direct results of the war."

The shinigami argued for half an hour over the idea before the Commander finally called for a vote. "All in favor of Unohana-taicho's idea—with the new adjustments—raise your hands." He looked around the room, counting, then sighed. "It's decided then."

* * *

**Heh...sorry this is so late...but at least it's up now! Hope y'all enjoy it and tell me what you think! ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

"Ichimaru Gin."

Ichimaru looked up from his absent study of his still-bound hands. He felt his heart give a painful lurch as he saw Hisagi Shuuhei leaning on the bars of his cell, watching him. The acting captain's eyes were cold as they rested on his form, and that made Ichimaru's chest hurt even worse. Shuuhei's eyes always used to soften when they landed on him, not get colder.

"Shuuhei," he responded softly.

"Don't call me that," the fukutaicho responded sharply, unlocking the door. "You lost that right as soon as you denied my offer and left with Aizen. Come on. They've decided what to do with you." He swung the door wide.

"Already?" Ichimaru said, shocked, as he rose and exited the cell. "That's astonishin'."

"I was surprised as well. But their verdict's pretty satisfying, so that's good." Shuuhei gave him a grin filled with teeth. "For me, at least."

Heart sinking, Ichimaru followed his…his what? Not ex-lover—Shuuhei had only just issued the offer of courtship before the shit hit the fan with Rukia and the Hogyoku. In a perfect world, Ichimaru would have had Shuuhei as a fukutaicho for years before Aizen's plan came to fruition, but the scarred man had been Tosen's fukutaicho, so even that claim was denied to him.

_I suppose,_ Ichimaru thought, _I really can't call him my anything._ The thought depressed him more than he thought it would.

They reached the council room before Ichimaru was ready, and he stopped at the door to collect himself, taking a quick glance at the other shinigami. Shuuhei's expression remained unreadable, but he did place a hand on his shoulder to urge him inside. Taking a small measure of reassurance from the contact, Ichimaru drew a deep breath and walked inside.

The leaders of the Gotei 13 were in the same positions as before, and every head turned to stare at him and they walked in. Ichimaru scanned the faces for some sign of his fate, but none of the blank expressions were offering any clues, so he had to wait in increasing anxiety. Shuuhei led him to stand directly in front of Commander Yamamoto and removed his hand. The ex-captain immediately wanted its comfort back.

"Ichimaru Gin," Yamamoto said, and Ichimaru's attention instantly snapped onto him. "We have decided that, although your crimes are severe, you will not be put to death. You will instead have your reiatsu bound semi-permanently and perform acts of service for the community under the authority of Unohana-taicho. If at some point in the future we agree that you have repented, we will release your reiatsu and reinstate you to acting shinigami status. You will not, however, be able to become a taicho again. Do you agree to these terms?"

Ichimaru sank to his knees, his legs too weak to hold his weight any longer. "Yes," he said breathlessly. "God, yes! Absolutely!" He laughed shakily. "I was sure I was gonna be executed. After that, even five hunnerd years with my reiatsu blocked is preferable."

"Good," Yamamoto replied, "Because that's what might end up happening. This meeting is adjourned." He rose and exited, the other taicho following his lead with a great scraping of chairs and low murmurs of conversation. Renji, after a few words with his taicho, approached the still-kneeling prisoner and his guard.

"Hey," he murmured to his friend. "How're you doing?"

"Not bad, considering," Hisagi replied quietly. "It's been…difficult, but at least I won't have to watch him die."

Renji arched an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Weren't you the one who voted to throw him in a cell until he did just that?"

The older fukutaicho waved that away with an irritated 'tch!'. "Locked away, not executed. If he was locked away, I could still…see him, sometimes."

The redhead studied his friend's tattooed face carefully. "You're still in love with him, aren't you?" he asked.

Hisagi looked at him with pain-filled eyes. "I can't answer that question."

Renji stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded. "'Kay." He approached Ichimaru and squatted down next to him. "Ichimaru-tai—uh, I mean, Ichimaru-san?"

"Yes, Abarai-fukutaicho?" Ichimaru turned his head slightly towards the redhead.

"You think you can stand up? We gotta get you back to your cell."

"That's where I'll be stayin'?"

"Yeah, at least for now, with 24-hour surveillance. I don't think it'll last long, though, just until we know we can trust you not to blow us up."

"Blowing up Seireitei is definitely not on my agenda. And it's funny ya should mention trustin' me." Ichimaru shot a sideways glance at Hisagi. "It seems to be in short supply at the moment."

Hisagi's lips thinned and he looked away, fingering his sword hilt.

* * *

**I AM A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE PERSON! DX I am so incredibly sorry this chapter hasn't gone up sooner! I have no excuse. Not really. I just got a new Mac (my first ever! WOOT! I shall never go back to PCs!) and I've been messing around and figuring out how to work it. And this is also the shortest chapter I've ever written! *prostrates herself in shame* The only bad thing about my Mac is the fact that it doesn't have a good word processing program, and like the cheap idiot I am, I didn't have them install Microsoft Word on it like I should have. So now I've got to get a good one on here, and this is the last of the chapters that I already had typed up...so I will do my best, but updates might be slow for a little while longer. Bear with me! I shall never desert this story, and I know how frustrating it is when you have to wait a superlong time between updates and then have to reread chapters 'cause you've forgotten what happened previously. So I will do my best!**

**IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT!**

**On another note...Does anyone know the REAL color of Ichimaru's eyes? *sweatdrop* I googled his pictures, but I saw both blue AND red eyes (which are the two options, right, cause he's albino?) so I'm super confused. Of course the manga is in black and white, and I haven't gotten that far in the anime yet. So if anyone knows, that would be really great. ^_^ Thanks for sticking with me, everybody!**

**~Lara**


	8. Chapter 8

Renji entered the jail with a smile, breezing by the door guards with a wave. Today was a good day, even if he was going to spend half of it sitting in front of Ichimaru's cell.

"Yo, Ichimaru-san!" he called as he entered the prisoner's cell block. "I got something for…you…?" he came to a halt, staring quizzically at the tableau in front of him.

Hisagi stood grim-faced and silent, staring out of the one window with tension marking every line of his body. Ichimaru huddled against the back wall, face turned to the stone. Both men were utterly silent and miserable. "Okay," Renji sighed, rubbing one of his tattoos, "What the hell happened here?"

Hisagi turned to face him. "Abarai-fukutaicho," he said woodenly. "I assume it's time to change shifts?"

"Don't give me that formal shit, Shuuhei," Renji snapped, good mood already gone. "What the hell happened that put both of you so out of it?"

"Nothing." Hisagi walked toward him, heading for the door. "Nothing happened."

"That is such bullshit, Shuuhei!" Renji followed him to the door.

"Leave it alone, Renji," Hisagi said sharply. "Ichimaru Gin and I are not going to start miraculously getting along, so don't try and make us be friends." He left without waiting for a reply.

"Goddamnit," Renji muttered, glaring after him. "Stubborn son of a bitch." He sighed and returned to Ichimaru's cell, slumping into the seat placed there specifically for the guard. "So," he said hopefully, "Maybe you can tell me what's going on?"

Ichimaru finally stirred, turning his head to face the redhead. "It's nothin', Abarai," he sighed, smiling bitterly. "Shuuhei and I were jus' talkin' about some things, that's all."

"I see you still call him Shuuhei, even though I'm sure he's expressly forbidden it," Renji noted. "I can imagine the things you two talked about." He groaned. "You two are so messed up it's scary."

Ichimaru gave a faint, bitter smile, not arguing with the redhead's words in the least. "So what do ya got for me?"

"Hm?" Renji stared at him blankly for a moment. "Oh, right!" He took a package out of his robes and tossed it through the bars. "Rangiku-chan insisted I bring you that."

Suitably cautioned, Ichimaru began opening the package with an appropriate amount of care. Renji sniggered. "Don't worry, Ichimaru-san. I searched it. It's perfectly safe."

"Safe is always relative where Rangiku is concerned," Ichimaru murmured. The package did indeed turn out to be safe, though. It was filled with Ichimaru's own clothes, obviously taken from his house by the big-breasted fukutaicho. The kind action made the ex-captain feel even more like a horrible person. Between Hisagi's anger and Matsumoto's kindness, Ichimaru was sure that he would be begging for forgiveness before long. He was already almost at that point with Hisagi.

"Do you really wear those, Ichimaru-san?" Renji asked, bringing Ichimaru out of his thoughts.

"O' course," he replied, standing and shaking out one of the casual kimono Rangiku had packed. "You'll hafta thank Rangiku for me; she knows that these're my favorite."

"Sure, no problem." Renji watched as Ichimaru carefully shook out and refolded all of the kimono, and then his eyes widened as the prisoner began to undress. "Hey, give me a little warning next time, will you?" He quickly turned his back.

Ichimaru paused for a moment, having completely forgotten that other people felt uncomfortable around the naked body. "Gomenasai, fukutaicho. I forgot that mos' people would feel uncomfortable about me undressin' in fronta them."

"How did you forget something like that?" Renji asked, face still turned to the wall.

Ichimaru paused again, briefly submerged in memories of just how he had lost his modesty. "There're many ways for ya ta lose your modesty. For me, I was experimented and tested on so many times that ta be shy about somethin' so trivial was pointless. I stopped feelin' shame about bein' naked a long time ago." He finished tying the obi around his waist, pulling perhaps a bit harder than was necessary. "Ya can turn around now, fukutaicho."

Renji did so, and studied the ex-captain with new eyes. He seemed to have had a pretty rough time in Hueco Mundo. At first Renji had thought it justified, considering that the shinigami had deserted Seireitei to follow a madman, but now he wasn't so sure. Ichimaru seemed to have been scarred deeply by whatever had happened.

"Ichimaru-san?" he asked slightly uncertainly. Ichimaru tilted his head slightly to show he was listening. "Er…do you…uh…could you tell me what kinds of things Aizen would do to you?"

Ichimaru's entire body froze. Renji could barely even see him breathing. Finally he said, "'E would perform tests ta see if we could be separated from our zanpakuto, ta see if we could control 'em from a distance, ta see if we could call 'em out if we were under intense stresses like extreme pain or extreme temp'ratures. Mosta the tests 'e performed on me and Tosen had ta do with our zanpakuto and what we could and couldn' do with 'em. Summa the experiments had ta do with the physiology of shinigami and whether or not 'e could increase the power of our bankai by external means. The stuff done on the arrancar were similar, but focused on their Hollows an' their differences from shinigami."

"Holy shit," Renji breathed. "He did those sorts of things to his _allies_?"

"Aizen was insane," Ichimaru said quietly. "The ideas and ambitions that originally convinced me ta follow 'im very quickly faded away ta show 'is true plans_—_and they didn' include sharin' power."

They sat in silence after that remark. Renji was thinking about Aizen and everything the traitor had done, and how his death had clearly been too merciful. He had no idea what Ichimaru was thinking; he may no longer use his grin as a mask, but the shinigami's face was no easier to read.

The fukutaicho finally stirred and said, "Well, come on, Ichimaru-san. It's time for you to head over to the fourth division." He unlocked the cell door and beckoned the man out, taking a quick glance at his wrists to make sure that the reiatsu-binding cuffs were still in place. "Should be fun," he remarked cheerfully as the left the prison. "I'm sure you'll learn more about the effects of stab wounds than you ever wanted to know."

"Yes, it sounds like fun," Ichimaru muttered. "I can't wait."

"You better get used to it, Ichimaru Gin!" Renji grinned. "You're gonna be doing it for a very long time!"

"Yeah, I know," Ichimaru sighed. "Never knew that trust was so hard ta win back."

"You didn't expect us to open our arms and welcome you back, did you?" Renji arched an eyebrow disbelievingly. "'Cause if you did, then you're as mad as your compatriots were."

Ichimaru waved this away with an irritated flick of his hand. "No, I knew it wasn' gonna be that easy. But it's nat'ral ta want things ta be easier than they are."

Renji nodded his acceptance of this, pushing open the door to the fourth division. Kotetsu Isane looked up from her desk and smiled.

"Welcome to your new job, Ichimaru Gin."

* * *

**Woot woot! I a good kid, ain't I? New chapter super quick! Please review!**

**~Lara  
**


	9. Chapter 9

"What are you doing?"

Renji didn't look away from his glass of soda, secretly imported from the Real World by Rukia. "Did you know that straws float because of the bubbles?" he murmured.

"Can't say that I did," Kira replied, taking a seat across from the nearly comatose redhead. Renji didn't raise his head from his arms, instead choosing to watch the carbonated drink slowly lose its fizz. Kira raised an eyebrow. "I think you've been working too hard, Renji."

"Really?" Renji mumbled. "My captain seems to think I'm not working hard enough." He yawned, and his eyes slipped half-closed.

"When was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"

Renji hummed in contemplation, trying to get his leaden brain to work. "Don't remember."

"That's not good."

"Meh." Renji yawned again. "Sleep is overrated."

"Really? Then why are you on the verge of falling asleep in the middle of Seireitei's most popular restaurant?" Kira leaned over and casually flicked him on the forehead to keep him awake.

Renji sat up with a jerk, then gave a groan and slumped over again. "Why are you still here? Just leave me alone and let me die in my own misery."

"You're not going to die, Renji," Kira sighed, irritated. "You just need sleep, that's all."

"Can't," Renji yawned. "Gotta go back to the office. Do training."

"Let your third do it!" Kira snapped. "Start delegating, Renji, or you're gonna collapse from exhaustion and overwork. I would be just as exhausted as you are if I hadn't learned how to delegate."

Renji stared at him for a moment, and then his eyes brightened. "That's a good idea! Get other people to do stuff…" he trailed off as he lost his train of thought.

"All right," Kira sighed. "This calls for an intervention." He pulled Renji to his feet. "Come on. We're going to go talk to your taicho and get you the rest of the day off."

"Eh? We are?" Renji stared at his friend quizzically as he was pulled out of the restaurant. "But…taicho won't like that…"

"Do you always do what Kuchiki-taicho would like you to do?"

"Well…no…but I have a feeling this is going to end badly…" Renji finished on a yawn.

"Don't care. You need it." Determined, Kira dragged his friend towards the offices of Division 6, knowing that Byakuya would most likely be doing paperwork. He slowed as they approached, the familiar overpowering reiatsu of the Kuchiki noble making him rethink his plan slightly. Barging in and demanding that Renji be given time off probably wouldn't go so well.

Instead he knocked politely, receiving a calm "Enter" from the occupant. Kira did so, still dragging a sleepy Renji by the wrist. Byakuya raised an eyebrow, sitting up straight and laying down his pen. "Kira-fukutaicho. How may I help you?"

Kira swallowed, having forgotten how intimidating it was to actually be standing in front of the 6th Division captain. "It's not me you can help, but Renji," he replied bravely, pulling the other fukutaicho forward. "He can't remember the last time he got a decent night's sleep and is dangerously close to collapsing from overexhaustion. I know for a fact that he's taken a shift guarding Ichimaru every day this week, on top of training your division members and performing all of his other duties. He needs rest or he's gonna end up in the 4th Division. Can he have the rest of the day off, taicho?"

Byakuya rose and approached, making Kira shrink back slightly. But it was not he Byakuya stopped in front of; it was Renji. "Is this true, Abarai?" he inquired, grey eyes scanning Renji's face. "Have you been overworking yourself like that?"

Renji winced, bringing a hand up to scratch self-consciously at his tattoos. "Er, I guess so," he said. "I mean, I'm doin' everythin' Kira said I was, so…yes?" he finished uncertainly, eyeing his captain slightly warily.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Kira-fukutaicho," Byakuya said quietly. "I don't think I would have noticed until he collapsed. Renji, you are dismissed. I don't want to see you in here until at least the day after tomorrow. Is that clear?"

Renji looked bewildered. "But…what'm I gonna do with an entire day to myself?" he asked.

Kira rolled his eyes and tugged Renji towards the door. "He understands, taicho, and thank you," he called over his shoulder. "I'll make sure he gets home safely." Look at that! He thought triumphantly. Maybe Byakuya doesn't treat Renji that badly after all!

"No, thank _you_, fukutaicho," Byakuya murmured as his office door closed behind the two shinigami. He stood in the center of his office for another minute, staring into space, before turning and settling back into his chair. _Again, _he thought furiously. _Again I neglect my fukutaicho, and this time he nearly collapses! And again it is Kira who brings it to my attention! This is unacceptable. I should be the first to notice my fukutaicho's ill health, not the last! Am I really so self-centered?_

No, he decided after several moments of introspection. He wasn't self-centered; he was simply unused to paying attention to other people. Which was terrible, considering that as a captain he had an entire division to look after. _Maybe,_ he thought,_ I can just start with taking good care of Renji, then go from there. Because clearly I can't even do that._ He felt very guilty about that; he saw Renji every day, looked at him every day, and yet when Kira had dragged him in Byakuya had not noticed any difference until the blond had pointed it out_—_and then it became glaringly obvious. Renji's eyes had been bloodshot, dark circles had ringed them, and his whole body_—_even his hair_—_had been wilting in tiredness. His normally tanned and healthy skin had been pale, almost grey, and he'd been practically asleep on his feet.

_I can't believe he was actually planning to come back to work._ But that was just like Renji to take on more than he could handle and then not ask for a break. Byakuya may not pay attention to his well-being, but he did know that much about Renji's personality. He never gave up. Ever. His will was strong as that Kurosaki Ichigo's_—_which was saying something, considering that that boy had mastered bankai in less than three days and fought his way through Seireitei to save Rukia.

Byakuya scowled at the memory. _And then he tossed her off the top of the execution stand. Thank god Renji caught her. Otherwise I might have had to kill that orange-headed idiot._

The captain returned to work, but his thoughts were distracted by his fukutaicho and the substitute shinigami. He really wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be lovers. Angry, yes, but not surprised. They were so similar.

The noble's hands paused right in the middle of reshuffling a stack of papers, a thought occurring to him. _Why would that make me angry…?

* * *

_

**Kukuku...stupid Byakuya! We all know why! Please review and let me know if you like it!**_  
_


	10. Chapter 10

"Byakuya-nii-sama!" Rukia caroled loudly, waltzing into the 6th Division's headquarters and straight up to her nii-sama's desk. Members of the 6th gave each other broad smiles, glad that the diminutive little shinigami was there to visit. Their fukutaicho hadn't shown up today, and while Byakuya had assured those brave enough to ask that he was merely at home resting, their captain had been unusually silent and depressed all day.

Byakuya raised his head to look at his tiny little sister. Rukia gave him a beaming smile, not put off in the least by the blank look on his face. "Yes, imoto-chan?" he asked, and Rukia's smile widened at his public acknowledgement of her place as his little sister.

"I'm going on assignment in the Real World, and I wanted to say goodbye to my favorite men! But one of them isn't here. Where's Renji, nii-sama?" Rukia looked around the office as if expecting to find the redhead hiding in a corner. "He usually never leaves your side."

"Renji is at home resting, imoto," Byakuya replied. "He nearly worked himself into collapsing, so I sent him home yesterday with orders to not show up today." He didn't comment on Rukia's remark about Renji never leaving his side. It was true, and now that Renji wasn't there Byakuya realized how much he relied on his fukutaicho's presence.

Rukia nodded. "Thank you for doing that, nii-sama," she said.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "Did you expect me to just work him until he collapsed?"

"No, of course not!" Rukia waved his question away. "Renji is very bad at knowing his own limits, so he often needs someone else to tell him to go rest. He's always been like that, even when we were kids. He'd always try to do more than he could handle. So it's good you told him to go rest, otherwise he probably would never have mentioned how tired he was." She bounced over and very daringly gave her brother a quick peck on the cheek. "I've gotta hurry if I want to have enough time to say goodbye to Renji. Bye, Byakuya-nii-sama! I'll tell Ichigo you say hello!" And she waltzed right out of the office again.

"Don't bother," Byakuya muttered to her retreating back. He was still angry about what, in his mind, had been an attempted seduction of his fukutaicho when they had met up with the substitute shinigami in the Real World. _Why can't that boy be normal and pursue Rukia, like any ordinary straight man would? Renji is off-limits!_

The irony of the fact that he was figuratively throwing his little sister to the wolves while protecting a man who was of no relation to him (adopted or otherwise) was lost on the 6th Division taicho. Then again, he always was a little slow on problems involving emotion.

—

Renji woke up from an incredibly nice dream involving Byakuya and no clothes to find Kuchiki Rukia leaning over him with a smirk on her face. "Aaugh!" he yelled, flailing around in panic. That was _not_ the Kuchiki he had expected to see upon waking!

Rukia expertly avoided the flailing arms and legs with the ease of long practice, the smirk never leaving her face. "Seemed like you were having a pretty good dream there, Renji," she chuckled. "I had no idea you could say nii-sama's name so many different ways."

"You…who…wha…gah!" Renji said, as what she said finally processed. He could feel his face heating up and he spluttered again, at a complete loss. What do you say to your best friend when she catches you having a wet dream about her older brother?

Rukia didn't seem to think it was a big deal, saying, "I've gotta go soon but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going on assignment in the Real World. I already stopped at nii-sama's office expecting to find you both there. Imagine my surprise to find my brother doing his paperwork alone."

"Alone?" Renji asked. "What time is…oh shit!" He leapt out of bed. "I'm so late! He's gonna fillet me!"

"Renji, sit back in that bed right now!" Rukia ordered, fists on hips. Renji instantly obeyed the tiny woman. "You have the day off today, remember? I was simply commenting that it was odd to see nii-sama without you next to him. Usually you're glued to his side." She gave him a wicked grin. "And now I think I know why."

Renji's eyes widened. "Listen, Rukia, I can explain_—_" he began, really unable to explain anything.

"Renji, I'm not mad," she interrupted. She gave him a soft smile. "I think you would be very, very good for nii-sama. I'm actually astonished that I didn't see it coming before; you two are practically like an old married couple."

"We are not!" Renji denied, relieved that his best friend_—_indeed, his only family_—_didn't seem to have a problem with him perving on her brother.

"Well, you fight like one, at least," Rukia replied, clearly enjoying herself immensely.

Renji cocked an eyebrow. "How many old married couples do _you_ know whose fights regularly destroy Seireitei's real estate?"

"That's true," Rukia conceded. "You and nii-sama certainly can go at it." Renji let out a strangled _meep_ at her phrasing. So did she, once she realized what she'd said. "I meant _fighting_!" she said desperately. "Not…er…anything else!"

Renji groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. "Please leave me to die in peace."

"And miss all of the fun when you actually start courting nii-sama? No way!" Then the small shinigami paused. "You _are_ planning on courting him properly, aren't you?" She pinned her friend with a severe stare.

Renji moved his pillow from over his head to under it. "Rukia, I don't think he'd say yes. And I don't think I can handle that."

A tiny fist smacked down on his head. "Don't be ridiculous! Of course he'd say yes! And you'll just have to blow him away with your courting so that he can't possibly say no to marriage!" Rukia's eyes grew glazed. "Nii-sama would look incredible in a wedding dress…"

"Rukia!" Renji yelped. "I haven't even told Byakuya that I'm interested, and you're already planning our _marriage_?"

His friend smiled sweetly. "It's never too early to start planning. Now I really do have to go, everyone's pulling double shifts these days to cover for the people guarding Ichimaru. It's too bad the rank-and-file can't watch him; life would be so much easier. But Ichimaru would crush them in a second if he got free. No!" She glared as Renji made a move to get up. "Don't you dare get out of that bed! I know you've been pulling triple duty at _least_ lately, and I also know that Byakuya-nii-sama expressly ordered you to rest today!"

"But I should be _helping_!" Renji pounded his fists against the bed.

Rukia smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "You do help, silly, more than you ever know. Don't worry. We have enough captain-class and vice-captain-class shinigami to watch Ichimaru for a long time to come. I'll see you when I get back, 'kay? I'll tell Ichigo hello for you. And don't you dare make nii-sama an offer while I'm not around to see it!" She left with a wave.

Renji flopped back on his bed with a groan. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse." He stared at the ceiling for a minute, then grinned goofily. "Byakuya in a wedding dress…"

* * *

**Well, there's that. Thank you everybody for your wonderful reviews! I'm so glad people are enjoying this story as much as I do! I hope to have chapter 11 up soon, but I make no promises. I've finally learned my lesson. ^_^ Please drop me a few lines!**

**~Lara  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Everyone in Seireitei with even a weak ability to sense reiatsu looked up the next morning as an incredible presence made itself known in the city. Whoever it was was not even attempting to suppress their power, and it seethed and roiled in what must have been extreme fury. All classes at the Academy came to a halt, as did all other shinigami activity across the city as everyone looked towards the source of the power. The reiatsu was not quite the same as normal shinigami energy, so most of Seireitei didn't recognize it. Those who did each reacted in their own way.

Madarame Ikkaku cursed wildly and profusely; Zaraki Kenpachi and his second Yachiru yelled in delight and took off for the source of the reiatsu; Hisagi Shuuhei's eyes widened and he slid into a protective stance in front of Ichimaru's cell; Kira Izuru's hands slipped, allowing a fruit display in the market to come crashing down; Renji powered into shikai without even thinking about it; and Byakuya calmly took another sip of tea.

The reiatsu was moving quickly in one direction. All of the taicho and fukutaicho dropped whatever they were doing and did the same, hoping to catch Kurosaki Ichigo before he reached his destination. They had no idea what he would do if he got there.

Ichigo skidded to a halt in front of Ichimaru's cell, having blown past the guards so quickly that they hadn't even seen him—just felt his reiatsu. "You!" he snarled at the prisoner, hand tightening on his unsheathed zanpakuto.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I must ask you to leave," Hisagi said calmly, even as he squared off against the teenager and made sure that he was between him and Ichimaru. "You do not have the proper authorization to—"

"Fuck the authorization!" Ichigo shouted, his reiatsu whipping his clothes about as if in a strong wind. "Why the fuck is that bastard here? Why hasn't he been executed? Why the _fuck_ is _he_ allowed a second chance?" He growled wordlessly, bringing Zangetsu around to point directly at Hisagi. "Get out of my way, Hisagi, I don't want to hurt you."

"Put your sword away, Kurosaki!" Hisagi said intensely, his own reiatsu beginning to build in anticipation of a fight. "Ichimaru Gin has been tried and punished accordingly by the Gotei 13. What are you expecting to do, kill him and then make your escape?"

"_It's not fair!_" Ichigo bellowed. "_Why does he get to come back here when he tried to destroy Soul Society, and Urahara Kisuke in in exile for an unintentional creation? Why is he here and the vaizards are not, when they were just victims of Aizen's cruelty? Why is he here and unscathed, when there are a dozen people who are banished and in pain? WHY IS THAT THE CASE!_"

"You are absolutely right, Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichimaru said quietly. "I believe the only reason I am here and not in exile is because I am too dangerous to be sent away on my own."

"Oh, and Kisuke's not?" Ichigo snarled. "Sensei could whip your ass without even trying! And he's in lifelong exile!"

"Your sensei did not betray the Soul Society, Kurosaki-kun," Byakuya said quietly from the doorway. "Nevertheless, you have raised some very important topics that need to be discussed. I have long thought that the exile of Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi was far too extreme. The vaizards as well, though they escaped rather than were exiled, should be able to return here if they wished." He glanced at his fellow taicho, who filled the doorway around him. "Since the Gotei 13 is now effectively the governing body of Seireitei, I believe it is past time to begin looking into the many faults and injustices in our system."

"That doesn't do a thing for Getaboshi-sensei and Yoruichi-sensei," Ichigo growled.

Byakuya turned to look at him again. "I'm sure Commander Yamamoto would agree that we can discuss their cases first, don't you, Captain Commander?"

"You young people are going to be the death of me," sighed Yamamoto. "Yes, of course we can look at Urahara's and Shihoin's sentences again. Now please stop threatening Hisagi-taicho, Kurosaki."

Ichigo blinked, withdrawing his blade. "Hisagi...taicho?" he asked, turning to look at the scarred man, who seemed just as shocked as he was.

Yamamoto's creased face broke into a smile. "Your arrival interrupted a meeting of the captains to decide on the new captains of Divisions 3, 5, and 9. Luckily we had already agreed when you arrived. Hisagi-taicho, if you want the position, the 9th Division is yours."

Hisagi gaped for a second, clearly in shock. Finally he managed to gasp out, "Yes! Of course! I...I would be honored!"

"Excellent. The others will be announced later today, as was planned. Captains, if you would join me again, it seems we have a matter of banishment to discuss."

The group began to break up, leaving only the fukutaicho in the jail. Renji edged his way through to Ichigo and grabbed his arm. "C'mon, Ichigo," he murmured. "You can crash at my place for now."

Ichigo shook him off and approached the bars. Hisagi's hand tightened on his sword, though the teenager simply glared. "Don't think you're forgiven," he hissed. "Inoue still wakes up in the night screaming from what happened in Hueco Mundo. I don't think I'll ever forgive you for that." He allowed Renji to lead him away.

"Honestly, Ichigo, you really know how to rile things up," the redhead sighed as they walked slowly through Seireitei. "Every time you come here it seems like you start a massive upheaval."

"Not my fault," Ichigo grumbled. "I just can't stand that guy." He sighed, his reiatsu back to normal levels—though that was still far above average. "Rukia's probably freaking out, I left as soon as she told me that that traitor had turned himself in. Suppose I should just head back right away."

"Hey, hang out here for a while," Renji suggested. "The other two captains are gonna be announced today! You don't wanna miss that, do you?"

Ichigo grinned. "That's true, I wanna stay for that. Think you'll get picked?"

Renji shrugged. "No idea. I mean, Shuuhei was a shoo-in, he's been running the 9th since Tosen left anyway and he's been doing a great job. But my taicho's still here and I've never run a division before. I'm also the newest fukutaicho, and I don't have a lot of experience. So I dunno."

"Well, we'll find out this afternoon," Ichigo said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. Renji remained silent, thinking. Did he even want a taicho's position? It'd mean he'd have to leave Byakuya. But it would also mean that he would finally be on equal footing with his taicho.

_I could actually court him as equals._

That thought clinched it for him; to be able to actually be on the same level as Kuchiki Byakuya … he definitely wanted to be a captain now. He grinned.

_Well, we'll just have to wait and see.

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_**Woot woot! I just uploaded my first AMV ever, about Byakuya and Rukia, so y'all should go look it up on YouTube! It's called 'Byakuya and Rukia - Forgiven'. Leave me a comment, tell me what you think!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

"Renjiii!" Ichigo called.

"I know! I got the message!"

The two shinigami met in the middle of Renji's apartment, both frantically trying to make themselves presentable for the meeting that had just been called. All of the Gotei 13 had been summoned to headquarters, and Renji knew that this must be the announcement of the new taich.

"Hurry up, berry!" he growled, hand already on the doorknob, ready to shunpo there as fast as possible.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ichigo growled back, buckling his sword belt quickly and joining Renji at the door. "And don't call me berry, Pineapple-head, or there will be an altercation!"

Renji smirked, a retort already forming on his lips, but Ichigo jerked open the door and shoved him out before he could say anything. "Hey! Watch it!" the redhead said instead.

Ichigo just grinned. "Last one there has to buy dinner!" he called over his shoulder, and shunpoed away.

"Dammit!" Renji growled, and followed his friends quickly. They weren't the only ones; Renji could see black blurs heading in the same direction from all over the city. He put on an extra burst of speed, determined not to lose, but Ichigo must have been practicing in the Real World because he was much faster than he used to be. Still, he wasn't as fast as Renji, and the teenager arrived barely two steps ahead of the fukutaicho.

"I win!" Ichigo grinned. "It's a good thing too, 'cause I don't have any money in this world!"

Renji planted a fist on top of his head. "You were counting on winning, weren't you?" he asked, eyebrow twitching. Ichigo laughed uneasily, and Renji was about to start a brawl when Byakuya called his name. "We'll talk later," Renji promised the substitute shinigami, and shunpoed over to his captain's side.

"All fukutaicho have been asked to stand with their taicho," Byakuya told him, and Renji frowned as he detected an unfamiliar distance in the noble's tone.

"Taicho, is something wrong?" he asked, and Byakuya stiffened slightly. But before he could answer Commander Yamamoto called for silence.

"We are gathered here today to announce the promotion of several shinigami to the rank of taicho." Dead silence fell as the old shinigami unfolded a white captain's shihakusho from a pile next to him. "For the Third Division, would Kira Izuru join me please."

There was an explosion of cheering from Division 3. Renji clapped as well, watching with a smile as a dazed Kira was pushed through the applauding crowd to join Commander Yamamoto on the platform. He took the shihakusho with reverent hands and slipped it on, the three displayed proudly on the back. Yamamoto called for silence again, taking another shihakusho from the pile.

"For the Fifth Division, would Abarai Renji join me please."

Renji went numb with shock as the crowd roared around him. His eyes sought out Byakuya automatically, to see a slightly sad smile on his taicho's face. "Taicho—" Renji took a half step towards him.

Byakuya gripped his arm and pushed him gently towards the platform. "Go on, Renji. I know you want this. I'm happy for you."

And then the crowd grabbed him, hustling him toward the platform. Renji ascended the steps and took the shihakusho in a daze, fingering the embroidered five on the back before slipping it on. He stood next to Kira as the crowd, still cheering, pushed an embarrassed Hisagi up onto the platform as well.

"I see news travels fast," chuckled the Commander. "Hisagi Shuuhei, the Ninth Division is yours." He handed over the final shihakusho.

"Thank you, Captain Commander," smiled the scarred man.

"Gotei 13," cried Commander Yamamoto, "I present to you your new captains!" The crowd roared again as, smiling sheepishly, the three shinigami descended the platform only to be swarmed by their divisions. Renji was surprised at his enthusiastic reception from the Fifth, but grateful for it. It would make leaving the Sixth that much easier.

Members of the Sixth joined in the congratulations as well, and Renji looked in vain for his taicho. "RENJI!" Ichigo shoved his way through the crowd, grinning like a maniac. "I told you you'd be a captain!" he shouted.

"You didn't tell me anything!" Renji shouted back, grinning.

Rukia appeared, flinging herself into his arms and bestowing a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "I came back to stop Ichigo from killing someone, and look at the surprise I get!" she beamed. "Congratulations, Renji!"

"Thanks," he said, still on the lookout for ivory kenseikan and long black hair. He could still feel his taicho's presence, so he knew he was still there. He just couldn't find him.

"We're gonna party tonight!" Matsumoto cheered, throwing herself onto Renji and squashing him against her large breasts. "Congratulations, Renji! I always knew you'd make captain!" Other fukutaicho began approaching to give their congratulations, as did several of their taicho. The one Renji really wanted to see, however, was nowhere to be found.

Renji didn't see Byakuya for the rest of the afternoon — his friends hijacked him for a celebration. Finally the redhead gave up and had a good time, knowing that he'd see his taicho eventually. Instead he used his time productively, getting to know members of his new division in a more relaxed setting. A _very_ relaxed setting; the alcohol flowed freely and loosened many tongues. Renji learned many things that he had never wanted to know, and his only hope was that his own alcohol intake would erase his memory for him.

At some point after nightfall he wandered out into the garden of whatever restaurant they were in, sipping idly at his beer. It was much quieter than indoors, as it was mostly reserved for amorous couples. Renji enjoyed the quiet as he walked around — until a splash of white caught his eye.

Byakuya was standing next to a large cypress tree, watching him. Renji stopped walking, taking another sip of beer as he thought. "Am I hallucinating, or are you really there, Byakuya?" he finally asked.

The noble's smile was hidden in the shadows. "You make an interesting drunk, Renji," he replied.

"Meh," Renji shrugged as he walked closer. "I'm not nearly as drunk as I will be. Watcha doin' here?"

"I came to offer my congratulations." Byakuya's eyes traced over the redhead's form. "The taicho's uniform suits you."

Renji grinned. "Thanks." Feeling more sober by the second, he walked even closer, until he was directly in front of his old taicho. "I'm finally on your level, Byakuya."

Byakuya shifted, Renji's continued familiar use of his name making him feel odd — almost off-balance. "You've been on my level for quite some time."

Renji shook his head, stepping even closer. "No I haven't," he murmured. Curling his hand around the back of Byakuya's neck, he tilted his head and kissed him softly. Byakuya gasped and tensed, and Renji moved in closer, pressing against the other man's hard body. He kept the kiss chaste and soft, not pressuring the noble into anything.

"But now I am," he finished, pulling back to look into Byakuya's wide grey eyes. "Now I _am_ on your level, and I can court you as an equal. I plan on making you an official offer in the next couple of days, Kuchiki-taicho. I hope you will accept."

* * *

**Whooaaaa! Renji's goin' for the gusto! XD Review everybody!**


	13. Chapter 13

_He was drunk,_ Byakuya thought as he looked at Renji the next day. _Drunk, and clearly not thinking right. He's probably forgotten all about what he said to me last night._

Renji certainly didn't give any signs of remembering his actions the previous night. He acted the same as ever as he cleared out the last of his personal things from the office he had shared for so many years with Byakuya. Perhaps he was a bit more subdued, but that was understandable; he probably had a hangover, and he was leaving his old division.

"Well, that's everything, I think," Renji said, looking around the office. "If I've forgotten anything just send me a Hell Butterfly and I'll come get it." He bowed formally to Byakuya. "Thank you for your help and tutelage all these years, Kuchiki-taicho. I don't think I'd be where I am today without you."

Byakuya managed a smile. "You'd most likely be dead after one of your crazy ideas."

"True," Renji laughed. Then he cleared his throat, meeting Byakuya's eyes. "Thanks again, taicho. I'll see you around." He picked up his box of things and left the office.

Byakuya stared after him, a hot sense of disappointment filling his belly. _It shouldn't matter!_ He told himself firmly, turning back to his much emptier-feeling office. _I didn't want him to make me an offer anyway!_

But, as he sat down at his lonely desk, the noble knew he was lying.

—

Renji burst into the office of the 3rd Division in a panic. "Kira! I need help!" he cried.

"You certainly do," Hisagi agreed, straightening up from where he had been leaning over Kira's desk.

Renji waved that off impatiently. "Not psychiatric help!" He braced both hands on Kira's desk, a little wild-eyed. "Last night when we were partying Byakuya showed up and I was drunk and I kissed him and told him I was gonna make an official offer in the next couple of days!"

"I don't see what the problem is," Kira said. "You've got an easy out; just pretend you don't remember."

Renji stared. Then he shook his head. "You don't get it. I don't need your help to get out of this situation, I need your help in writing my offer!"

His friends stared at him in silence. Finally Kira said, "You actually want to _court_ Kuchiki Byakuya?"

"Now I _know_ you need psychiatric help," Hisagi muttered.

Renji ignored that. "I've wanted to court him for years. I've never offered because I was sure he'd turn me down. Now that I'm a taicho, on his level, I feel like I have a better chance." He shrugged. "So will you help me?"

Kira sighed. "Yes. God knows why, as you will probably end up sliced and diced into a hundred tiny pieces, but yes. I will help you."

Renji grinned in relief. "Thank you so much!" The two of them made plans to meet at lunchtime, neither noticing Hisagi's closed, wistful expression as they talked about the best way to win Byakuya's approval. Finally the scarred man spoke.

"You guys are talking about customs for a subordinate to court his superior. Do you even know the way to court him as equals?"

There was a long silence. Kira and Renji looked at each other, then at Hisagi. "Oh shit," they groaned in unison.

"That's what I thought. You better do some research."

"Do you know how, Shuuhei?" Renji asked desperately.

"You are _not_ dragging me into this."

"_Please_, Shuuhei!" Renji got down on his knees. "I need your help!"

Hisagi stared at his friend, feeling pulled in two. If he helped Renji court Byakuya, it would inevitably remind him of his failed attempt to court Ichimaru. He was already reminded of it every time he saw the silver-haired shinigami, and the wound in his heart was already big enough. He had no desire to make it any bigger. But if he didn't help … well, he had no real reason why he shouldn't. And it would be nice, at least, to see Renji and his taicho happy.

"Fine, he sighed. But this'll be quick, just to get you through the initial offer. You'll have to look it up after that."

Renji bounced to his feet, grinning. "Domo arigato, Shuuhei!"

"Yeah, yeah," the shinigami grumbled, waving a hand. "If you weren't on a time limit, I'd make you look it up. Now, the initial offer is usually done in the form of a letter … "

—

Renji fidgeted nervously as the captain's meeting drew to a close. He had a letter hidden in his sleeve that was practically burning a hole through the fabric, and now was the time to deliver it. The captains were standing around talking, and Byakuya had not left immediately as was his wont.

Taking a deep breath, Renji approached his old captain and politely interrupted his conversation with Ukitake-taicho. "Kuchiki-taicho." He bowed low, in the manner of someone respectfully making a request. The he waited, not breathing, for Byakuya to acknowledge this first step.

Silence was quickly descending over the room as their colleagues noticed what was going on — probably due to Kira and Hisagi, who hadn't looked away from Renji since he had made his first approach. Renji didn't move from his bow. He knew it was perfect; Hisagi had made him practice over and over again until he got it absolutely right. So what was taking Byakuya so long to answer? Or was he going to cut off the courtship right here by not acknowledging the bow? Renji felt a drop of sweat trickle down his spine.

"Yes, Abarai-taicho?" Byakuya finally replied, and Renji nearly sagged in relief. He straightened up and gave the noble a brilliant smile, drawing the roll of parchment from his sleeve.

"I would be greatly honored if you would accept this." He offered it in both hands, palms up, signifying that, although they were equals, he was honoring Byakuya's seniority and greater experience.

Byakuya stared at it, feeling incredibly detached from his surroundings. Renji had bound it with a deep gold ribbon, and ripples of movement went around the otherwise still room when the other captains saw that. It made Byakuya feel even more detached.

Gold was only used when the courter was asking for an eternal commitment. If Byakuya accepted, he would be unable to accept or consider other offers while Renji was courting him. If the courtship was concluded and the two of them were bonded, it would be permanent — no possibility of divorce or other relationships. It was an incredible gesture of trust and emotion from Renji, proving that he believed that he would never want another person besides Byakuya.

And Byakuya didn't know what to do.

He looked up into Renji's face, and the sheer emotion displayed there took his breath away. When he had married Hisana, it had been one-sided; she had never loved him the way he loved her. Byakuya had never been pursued before, had never even considered the possibility that someone might want to. And now, with Renji offering eternity … could he do it? Could he live for hundreds of years with only Renji at his side? He stared into the shinigami's dark eyes and realized the answer.

With slightly trembling hands, Byakuya lifted the letter from Renji's grasp and bowed.

"Thank you, taicho."

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**Heh heh...leave a comment!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Byakuya-nii-sama," Rukia whispered in awe, kneeling next to her motionless brother. She stared at the roll of parchment in his lap, utterly shocked by Renji's daring. A gold courtship hadn't been seen in centuries. If Byakuya had rejected it … Renji would have probably never moved on.

"Rukia," Byakuya said, his deep voice making her start slightly.

"Hai, nii-sama?"

"Abarai Renji has offered me this." An elegant hand rose to touch the scroll. "As his close friend, can you think of any reason why he would do such a thing?"

Rukia frowned slightly. "I would think the reason was obvious, nii-sama. Why? Was the offer incorrect?"

The curtain of hair hiding Byakuya's face moved slightly. "No. It was perfectly executed and very respectful of my status."

"Has he offended you in some other way?" Rukia pressed gently.

"No, he has not."

"Even in the color of the ribbon?" Rukia pressed even more gently.

The curtain of hair rippled as though Byakuya had shaken his head — or flinched — and both hands came up to stroke the gold ribbon. "It does not offend me. I would have denied his offer if it had. But … it is a sobering thought, to know that Renji will never look for another."

Rukia would have leaned forward intently if it wouldn't have made Byakuya clam up again. This was close to the real reason why her nii-sama still hadn't opened the scroll, and she sifted through the sentence in her mind, looking at it from all angles and not missing the fact that her very formal brother had used Renji's first name. What did he really mean? Then her eyes widened.

Byakuya had never been pursued or openly desired before now. Many people had been too intimidated or awed by his status to court him as a lover or even just as a friend, and he was finding it difficult to believe that someone actually wanted him for who he was. Renji knew all his flaws, had been on the receiving end of his temper more than a few times and had seen him wounded, defeated and under other intense stresses. Byakuya would never belittle the redhead by thinking that his noble status was what Renji was after — in fact, it was more likely that the courtship was in spite of his noble blood, rather than because of it.

It was the flinch when Rukia had mentioned the gold ribbon that was really telling. Byakuya was not afraid of the thought of forever; he was afraid of Renji's idea of forever. The tiny shinigami realized that her brother was unsure if Renji truly meant that Byakuya was the only one for him.

Rukia placed her hand gently on Byakuya's arm. "Renji knows exactly what this ribbon means, nii-sama." That was all she said, but it was exactly the right thing to say. Byakuya relaxed and straightened his spine, taking the scroll in both hands and delicately untying the ribbon. He unrolled and read it silently, then looked out at his garden in contemplation. Rukia waited, on tenterhooks, for him to say or do something, but he just sat there. Finally her impatience got the best of her and she asked politely, "May I read it, nii-sama?"

"Hmm?" Byakuya looked at her, then down at the letter. "Oh. Yes, I suppose." He handed it to her, and Rukia unrolled it reverently.

It was the most romantic thing she had ever read. Renji spoke eloquently and poetically about his longtime feelings for his taicho, and how he had hesitated to make a move until he felt himself worthy of such an honor. He also assured Byakuya of his sincerity in offering him the gold ribbon, hopefully sweeping away any lingering doubts he had had.

"_I hope to receive your reply soon, and will wait patiently until you are ready to gift me with it. The pace of this courtship is entirely up to you. I remain for eternity, faithfully yours, Abarai Renji, taicho of the Fifth Division,"_ Rukia read at the end, and she sighed wistfully as she handed it back. Who would have guessed that Renji could be such a romantic? _She _wanted someone to court _her_ now! Though perhaps not a gold ribbon courtship.

"It is a very well-thought-out letter." Byakuya reread the scroll once before retying the ribbon around it.

"Will you reply right away?" Rukia asked, curious to know what her brother's reaction was.

"Not right away," Byakuya replied. Rukia thought she detected a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. "I think I will make him wait a couple of days. See how he deals with the stress."

Rukia giggled. "Knowing Renji, he'll be tearing his hair out in worry."

"Well, we shall see." Byakuya rose gracefully to his feet, still holding the letter as though it would be destroyed if he gripped it too firmly. "I will see you at lunchtime, imoto-chan."

"Hai, nii-sama!" Rukia sang, smiling as she always did when Byakuya called her his sister. She giggled again softly as she thought of her best friend and brother … _together_. Oh, she was going to have so many good stories for the Shinigami Women's Association!

—

"Renji-nii-san!"

Startled, Renji looked up from his perusal of the Fifth's training grounds, only to get tackled by a flying Rukia. With an "Oomph!" of surprise, he landed flat on his back in the dust with his small friend on top of him. "Ru-Rukia?" he wheezed, trying to breathe. "What … why did you call me nii-san?"

The diminutive woman sat up and smiled. "I figured I should practice for after your wedding with nii-sama!"

"After … wedding …" Renji's eyes widened, and he heard snickers from a few of his watching division members. "I just barely gave him the letter! I told you to not plan our wedding yet!"

"And _I_ told _you_, it's never too early to start planning." Rukia giggled, sitting up straight on his stomach and looking around in interest. "Sooo … these are your new grounds? Pretty snazzy!"

"Thanks," Renji muttered, sitting up as well and letting his friend slide down into his lap. "You can tell that this one hasn't been destroyed nearly as often as the Sixth's."

"Yeah, no kidding," Rukia snickered. "You an nii-sama destroyed it nearly every week. I guess this one hasn't gotten a lot of action, not since Aizen's betrayal and Hinamori's … death …" she fell silent.

"Yeah," Renji said. Hinamori's suicide after Aizen was killed by Ichigo was a sore spot for all shinigami. Hitsugaya-taicho hadn't spoken to anyone for nearly a month afterwards, feeling that it was somehow his fault. Kira had been nearly as distraught, only snapping out of it after Renji took him out, beat him up, and told him to stop feeling guilty over something he couldn't have stopped, Hinamori wouldn't have liked it. The advice was just as much for himself as it was for Kira, and it worked, to an extent. There were certain moments, though, when the guilt nearly overwhelmed, and it was at times like that when Renji went in search of Ikkaku.

"But Renji …" Rukia said sweetly, and Renji turned to look at her. "I thought I told you not to make an offer until I was there to see it?" She smiled, her eyes closing, and Renji yelped, scrambling away.

"I'm sorry! It was the perfect moment! It couldn't be wasted!" He sprinted across the grounds with the tiny shinigami in hot pursuit, sword swinging, the laughter of his unhelpful division members ringing in the air.

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**WOOOOWWWW! O_O I am astonished, you guys! 114 reviews, and I'm only on chapter 14! This is the first story I've ever written that has gotten 100 review, you guys are FANTASTIC! ^_^ I love you so much! I hope y'all liked this chapter too! Please drop me a line if you feel like it!**

**~Lara**

**...I just realized that every single sentence up there is ended with an exclamation point... o_O oh well...  
**


	15. Chapter 15

Renji was half-undressed and had Hanataro's hands all over his chest when Byakuya appeared in the doorway. "Taicho!" Renji said, cheeks reddening at his state of dishabille as the silent noble inspected him carefully.

"What happened?" Byakuya asked, approaching and touching Renji's shoulder delicately with one finger. The tan skin shuddered and moved away from his light touch, even that slight contact too much for the torn and ravaged flesh. Cool reiatsu began to flow from Byakuya's fingertip, sinking into the wound and easing the pain.

Renji sighed in relief. "One of my division members has a very … unique shikai. He can't control it very well, and I wasn't fast enough during training. I didn't know you could heal, taicho."

"I know a very little," Byakuya replied. "For a wound like this it is barely enough to stop the pain and speed up the natural healing process. But it is very useful for smaller injuries."

"Kuchiki-taicho is too modest," smiled Unohana-taicho, gliding into the room with Isane at her side and Ichimaru in tow. "He was top of his class in the Academy and one of my brightest students after he graduated as well. If he had continued I'm sure he would have quickly surpassed all standards of comparison. Unfortunately he deserted us for a life of killing and war." She examined Renji quickly and pronounced him almost ready to be released. Hanataro had done an excellent job, and the wounds had been healed with barely a scar. "Can we help you with something else, taicho?" she inquired. "Or did you just come to see if your lover was okay?"

Both men blushed beet-red. Renji mouthed the word 'lover', eyes wide, while Byakuya tried to control his involuntary reaction. "Actually," he said, drawing his dignity around him, "I was looking for Abarai-taicho for that very reason." He withdrew a scroll from his sleeve and presented it to Renji, whose eyes were wider than ever. "I would be honored if you accepted this reply, taicho." Unohana and Isane giggled like schoolgirls and Ichimaru looked confused as Renji accepted the letter and bowed dazedly.

"Thank you, taicho," he breathed, smiling, and Ichimaru took a sharp breath in as he realized what the letter was. He glanced wistfully at the gold-bound scroll as the two captains continued to stare at each other. _Damn, this is going to be really difficult,_ he thought. _If Kuchiki and Abarai are courting …_

Coming back to himself, Byakuya realized that he had been staring into Renji's eyes like some lovesick fool and hurriedly excused himself. Unohana teased Renji mercilessly about his sappy smile as she checked him over one last time before declaring him fit to leave. Renji took it in stride, knowing that he was going to get similar comments for years — courtships often took over a century to complete.

The redhead headed out to the main reception area to fill out some paperwork. He was greeted by a cry of, "I'm so sorry, taicho!" from a distraught shinigami waiting there.

"It's okay, Higurashi," Renji replied, waving it off. "I'm as good as new. Hanataro-san fixed me up just fine."

"And Kuchiki-taicho paid him a visit, so I'm sure that helped," smiled Hanataro, handing Renji the papers.

Higurashi gasped, looking even more unsettled. "So that's why he was here! He came out and gave me a look as if he was calculating the easiest way to kill me. He must've guessed that I was the one to hurt you, taicho!"

"Don't worry. We'll get your shikai under control soon, and things like this'll stop happening." Renji handed the papers back, completely filled out, and walked out the door with Higurashi at his side. "Thanks again, Hanataro!" he called over his shoulder. Receiving a muffled acknowledgment, the redheaded taicho lazily strolled back to his headquarters, glad for this one moment in his otherwise hectic day where he could go slow. Being a taicho was a lot of work, and being a taicho in a new division without a fukutaicho was even harder.

_Suppose I'll have to choose a second soon. Damn. Even though I started out in the Fifth, it's changed so much since then that it's practically a different division._ Renji frowned in thought, absently kicking a stone down the street.

"RENJI!" a voice bellowed from above. The redhead didn't even flinch as Ichigo landed in front of him. "Yama-jii just told me that the banishment on Kisuke-sensei and Yoruichi-sensei has been revoked!"

"Hm?" Renji's eyes focused on the orange-haired boy. "Oh, yeah, we decided that like three days ago. Where've you been?"

Ichigo whacked his friend on the head. "Why didn't you _tell_ me, you idiot!" he hissed. "This is super important! I can't _wait_ to get back and let them know!"

"I didn't tell you 'cause I had other things on my mind at that moment," Renji grumbled, rubbing his head. "That was the meeting where I proposed to Taicho, you know."

Ichigo stopped, jaw dropping. "You _proposed_ to Byakuya?" he squeaked. "And you're still _alive_? What did he _say_?"

"Man, you really are out of it." Renji started walking toward his headquarters again, Ichigo falling in next to him. "Well, he's accepted my offer, and he just gave me his reply to my letter, so …" he shrugged and smiled. "I'm hopeful."

"Wait, what?" Ichigo frowned. "You said you proposed. Isn't that usually a straight yes or no answer?"

"Of course not! We've just barely begun the process of courting. Both of us will have plenty of opportunities in the future to break it off if we change our minds. I know I won't, but Taicho … well, I'll just have to make sure he doesn't." Renji forced a smile.

"So you're in the middle of some elaborate courting process? You didn't just propose marriage?" Ichigo was very confused.

Renji shrugged. "No, I did propose marriage, but for us marriage usually comes after years and years of courting. Byakuya and I have just begun courting, so we might not be married for another century — if we get married at all. Either one of us can break it off at almost any time. There are rules and customs to follow, especially in ours, but he accepted my initial offer, so … I'm hopeful." Renji didn't mention the fact that if Byakuya turned him down at any point, he would never recover from the loss.

Ichigo blew out a breath in wonder, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Damn. That's super complicated. For us it's just a proposal after a few years of dating." He shook his head with a groan. "Let's talk about something that won't make my brain hurt. Have you chosen a fukutaicho yet?"

Renji shook his head, staring at his friend thoughtfully. "No. Should probably do it soon, though."

"Do you have any idea as to who you might want?" Ichigo pushed open the door to the Fifth's headquarters and flopped into a chair in front of Renji's desk. "I mean, you can pick from any division, right? So you've got a lot of choice."

"Yeah." Renji settled himself behind his desk and made up his mind. "Actually, Ichigo," he said quietly, "I was wondering if _you_ would consider taking the position."

* * *

**Bwahaha! How many people saw that one coming? ... Probably quite a few...oh well... ^_^ Lots of plot movement here! Byakuya finally gets around to replying, and Renji might get a new fukutaicho! Even more plot movement in the next chapter...this is where it really starts picking up...at chapter 15... XP**

**I have a request for all of my lovely readers/reviewers! I have no freakin' idea what the steps in Byakuya's and Renji's courtship are going to be. I'm thinking maybe they'll exchange love letters for a while (because I think that idea is absolutely the sweetest thing ever - imagine Byakuya writing Renji a love letter! KYAAA!) but after that I have no clue what's going to happen. Pretty sure there's going to be quite a few time jumps, because even though their courtship isn't going to be a century long, it's still gonna be like 60 years, and that's just too freakin' long to write about. Yes... and right now I'm wrestling with the plot because it keeps wanting to creep off and develop even more twists! And I refuse to let it! This is a Renji/Byakuya story, dammit!**

**Right, so anyway, the actual request was for ideas! If any of you have courtship ideas that you're absolutely dying to share with me, PLEASE DO SO! I usually don't ask for reader ideas, so think of this as a limited offer opportunity!  
**

**Sorry about the late update and the false chapter. My university just started the fall semester so I'm crazy busy right now trying to stay on top of my coursework. As soon as I get used to juggling my new schedule updates will (hopefully) speed up! Sigh...I love my school. Go Soka Lions! ^_^ I await your reviews with bated breath!**

**~Lara  
**


	16. Chapter 16

Ichigo pushed open the door to Urahara's shoten, the little bell tinkling merrily. "Yo, Getaboshi!" he called. "Where are you? Got some things to tell ya!"

"Oh, Ichigo-san!" Ururu popped out of the back and gave him a smile. "Urahara-san is in his lab. If you'd like to go and try to get him out you're welcome to, but he's been in there for two days now and isn't responding to anyone." Her little face fell slightly. "Actually I'm kind of worried about him …"

"Ah, he'll be fine!" Jinta appeared as well and fixed Ichigo with a baleful stare. "Whaddya want, Berry-head?"

Ichigo's fist came smacking down on the boy's head. "Respect your elders, brat," he growled. "And I've got some stuff to talk to Urahara about." He strode through the back of the shop and into the attached house, ignoring Jinta's outraged shouts and Ururu's useless attempts to calm him down. He knew exactly where the lab was, having been dragged in there by his perverted sensei several times for experiments, so he headed straight for the door.

"Oi, Urahara!" he called, knocking on the wood. "Still alive?"

"Kurosaki-kun?" There was a short delay, and then the door slid open and Urahara Kisuke stepped out. "My, what a surprise!" he smiled, fluttering his fan in front of his face. "I had almost thought that you'd decided to stay in Seireitei permanently!" He did not let on how much that thought had depressed him.

"Yeah, well, I might," Ichigo mumbled, scratching his head. "Is Yoruichi around? Got somethin' to tell ya both."

Kisuke felt his stomach sinking, but pasted a smile on his face. "I believe she is spending time with the vizards. Shall I call her over?"

"No, actually, it'd be better if we went over there, this concerns them too. Can you leave your experiments for a minute?"

"Of course, of course. Just let me tell Tessai to watch the shop and we can head over there." The shopkeeper made the arrangements quickly, and the two shinigami were soon entering the protective shield around the vizard's warehouse.

They were greeted exuberantly by the inhabitants, who soon settled down when Ichigo told them that he had news from Seireitei. Everyone took a seat and stared at the orange-haired shinigami. Ichigo took a deep breath, deciding to tell it quick, like ripping off a band-aid. "The Gotei 13 have lifted all of the banishments and invite you all back, if you want to."

There was dead silence in the warehouse.

Ichigo fidgeted slightly.

Finally Kensei said, "All of us?"

The teen nodded quickly, glad that somebody had broken the silence. "Yeah. All of you are invited back. I think you should hold out for formal apologies, though."

"Wait," Shinji said, all playfulness gone from his attitude, "I don't get it. What do you mean, the Gotei 13 decided? What happened to the Chamber 46?"

"They were killed by Aizen," Ichigo said, startled. "You didn't know that?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, they were, and there hasn't been anyone new appointed. The Gotei 13's running the place now, and I think they're planning on making a lot of changes. I think you'd like it a lot better if you did go back."

"So, what? We'd get our old positions back?" Love asked.

"Er," Ichigo said, "Probably not. They just appointed new captains. But all three captains are looking for fukutaicho, so maybe …" he trailed off and shrugged. "One of them's already offered me a position, though."

"Really? Who?" Shinji asked.

"My friend Abarai Renji. He's the new captain of the Fifth. He asked me right before I left, said I could think about it. I dunno what I'm gonna do." Ichigo instinctively turned to his fan-waving sensei for advice.

Urahara had none to immediately give him, and he fluttered his fan absently as he thought. This news had completely blind-sided the normally intelligence-savvy shinigami, who had truly never expected to return to his home, and so he had no contingency plan for the situation.

"I think I should like to return," he said softly, aware that the vizards were waiting for him to speak as well. "Of course, only temporarily, to see what the situation would be like if I returned permanently." This was, of course, an understatement; Kisuke wanted nothing more than to open a senkai gate right then and dash through it, but old hurts and betrayals caused him to be cautious. He closed his fan with a snap and turned to Shinji. "And what will the vizards do?"

"Everyone's free to do whatever they want," the blond said, "But I think that's a good idea. Go back, check it out, see what our reception would be. I'm not particularly keen on moving back into a society with such flaws, but if Ichigo's right and the Gotei 13's running the show …" he shrugged. "Things'll be different. I know Yama-jii's not blind to the faults in the system, and I bet there'll be enough pressure to get the ball rolling." He grinned widely, a bit of Hollow shining through. "And wouldn't that be a sight to see."

The other vizards agreed with him, Hiyori adding a few choice words of her own about Seireitei in general and the Chamber 46 in particular. Ichigo felt relief seeping through him; at least they weren't going to abandon him immediately to rush back to their old home. It made him feel much more secure.

"Well, I must be getting back to the shop," Urahara said, rising. "There's no rest for the hardworking, isn't that right, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It's 'there's no rest for the wicked', Getaboshi-sensei."

"Ah well," Urahara fluttered his fan lightly, "I think I like my version better."

"Oi!" Hiyori interrupted, fists on hips as she glared the two of them down. "Why does he call _you_ sensei when he doesn't even address us with suffixes at all?"

"Because I _am_ his sensei, Hiyori-chan!" smiled Urahara, fan fluttering faster.

"So what are we, chopped liver?" the short girl glowered.

"You are his _friends_, Hiyori-chan! _I_ am his sensei in every sense of the word!"

"Oi!" Ichigo yelped. "Don't say perverted things like that!" He glanced at Hiyori and gulped — that throbbing vein boded ill. Very ill. "Time to go," the teen said, grabbing Urahara's wrist and streaking towards the exit. "Bye, Yoruichi!" he called over his shoulder. "Come by and talk sometime!" He dodged a cero blast, still dragging his crazy sensei behind him, and they burst out into the cool evening air with sighs of relief and a few chuckles of laughter.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-kun," Urahara said, smiling. "I did not mean to get her so riled up."

"Bullshit, of course you did," Ichigo snorted, stuffing his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted to reach for his sensei's surprisingly soft wrist again. The two of them walked back to the shoten in an easy silence, the soft clacking of Urahara's geta sandals the only sound accompanying them. Finally, unable to take it any longer, Ichigo asked bluntly, "Should I take the fukutaicho position Renji's offering?"

Urahara hummed in thought. "Well, it really depends on you, Kurosaki-kun. Do you want such responsibility at such a young age? Being a fukutaicho is a lot of hard work, long hours, and thankless people, and you'd probably hold the position for several hundred years. You'd have to leave your family here, although of course you'd be able to visit them quite often, and you wouldn't be able to finish school, get a girlfriend, go to college … You'd essentially die."

"No, you know what I think I'd do?" Ichigo said thoughtfully. "I'd give my body to Kon. So much easier than explaining my sudden disappearance and why my family isn't concerned. And Kon would finally get a real body of his own and be able to live a real life. _If_ I decide to take the position, which I'm not sure I will." He sighed, holding the door of the shoten open for Urahara. "You're right, it'd be a lot of commitment."

"Of course I am! I am _always_ right, Kurosaki-kun." Urahara smiled, beckoning the boy into the back for some tea.

"No you're not," Ichigo chuckled, sitting down at the table as the shopkeeper bustled around making tea. "You know," he added musingly, "I've never seen you be as serious as you were at that meeting before."

Urahara paused slightly. "Being serious all the time is boring, Kurosaki-kun," he said playfully, pulling on his perverted shopkeeper persona instantly and bringing the tea over.

"No, I wasn't saying it was a _bad_ thing," Ichigo said, taking a sip of the hot liquid. "It was actually kinda nice, seeing that side of you." He offered a slightly shy smile. "I liked it."

* * *

**New chapter...yay...*rolls over and dies* I hate the beginning of the semester. Everything's always screwed up - my sleep schedule, my priorities, my brain...Blahhh. D: Hope you all enjoy, drop me a comment if you want.**


	17. Chapter 17

Ichigo thought about what he was going to do for a long time, discussing it with his family (and Kon) in great depth. He went to Urahara's shoten almost every day, talking over the pros and cons with the ex-captain and getting a good picture of what a fukutaicho's duties really were. Finally, he talked to Rukia.

"I don't really see what the problem is, Ichigo," the tiny girl shrugged. "Do you think you'd be happy as Renji's fukutaicho?"

Ichigo scratched his head, wondering that himself. "Well, yeah. I think I would, especially if Kisuke and the others are going back. And if I can still visit my family, of course."

"And as a fukutaicho you'd have your own personal senkai gate. Well, that's settled then. I think you should take the offer." Rukia grinned evilly. "And you know, I can't help but notice that you call Urahara by his first name when he's not around, but always address him formally to his face. Now, why is that?"

Ichigo blushed beet-red. "Uh … really? I didn't notice."

"The color of your face would suggest otherwise," Rukia sniggered, enjoying her friend's discomfort very much.

Ichigo cursed his red hair for his tendency to blush. "What are you trying to say? It's only natural for me to be formal with my teacher."

"Ichigo, you call your father 'Old Goat-Chin.' Being formal has never been a high priority of yours before, so what's so different about Urahara?"

"Nothing!" Ichigo snapped, face burning brighter. "Nothing's different about him! He's just my perverted sensei! That's it!" He turned away, wanting to drop the subject. Thankfully Rukia did so with minimal fuss, knowing that now that she'd planted the seed of thought in Ichigo's mind, he'd think about it more and more.

—

"Yo, Getaboshi! Are we goin' or what?"

"All right, all right, learn patience, Kurosaki-kun," Urahara said wearily. "The vizards aren't here yet, so we still have to wait."

"Che," Ichigo muttered, leaning against a boulder with his arms crossed. The two of them were in Urahara's underground chamber, waiting to leave for Seireitei. "Idiots'd be late to their own funeral. Ow!"

"Who you callin' an idiot, idiot?" Hiyori snapped, lowering her sandal. The vizards had arrived just in time to hear Ichigo's description of them, and Ichigo, terrible as ever at identifying tamped-down reiatsu, hadn't noticed.

"Who do ya think I was talkin' about, shorty?" Ichigo taunted, and the two of them would have gone at it right there and then if Urahara hadn't intervened.

"Gate's opening!" he carolled, and both fighters were instantly diverted. They gathered in front of the gate in anticipation, everybody tense and waiting. The senkaimon appeared with a thud, and instantly the tension rose. If the banishment had truly been lifted …

Urahara slowly stretched out his hand. The tips of his fingers touched the crackling energy — and passed right through. He let out a shuddering breath of relief. "Worried?" Ichigo asked quietly, and Urahara smiled briefly.

"Just slightly." He turned to face the vizards. "All right, everyone!" he called. "You know the drill! Straight through without stopping — in fact, it's a good idea to use shunpo!"

"Aw shuddup, baldy!" Hiyori shouted. "We know already! Get yer old ass movin'!"

Urahara took his old fukutaicho's advice and entered the gate, Ichigo hot on his heels. The trip was over in moments with shunpo, and soon the large group was standing on the streets of Rukongai.

"Welcome home, sensei," Ichigo said.

Urahara nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

The group stood in silence for a long moment, everyone gazing at sights that they had never expected to see again. Finally they moved forward as one, causing the wall around Seireitei to come crashing down.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Jidanbo's deep voice rumbled. When the giant gatekeeper took a good look at their group, however, his eyes widened in shock. "Urahara-sama! Muguruma-sama! Shihoin-sama! Hirako-sama! Aikawa-sama! Otoribashi-sama!" He bowed deeply. "It is an honor to know you have returned! Please wait one moment, I will open the gate for you!"

"Why didn't we get any mention?" Hiyori complained under the grinding sounds of the gate being lifted.

"'Cause we're not former captains," Ichigo replied. "Besides, he can't name all of us individually, it'd take too much time." He turned toward the gate, and his eyes widened. "Uh oh."

Waiting on the other side of the gate were the captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13.

All of them.

Jidanbo nearly fainted. Ichigo spared a brief moment of sympathy for the big shinigami — he'd had more excitement in the last few years that he'd had in the last few centuries.

"Welcome back, Urahara Kisuke," Yama-jii said, wrinkled hands clasped over his gnarled walking stick. "Hirako Shinji, Muguruma Kensei, Aikawa Love, and Otoribashi Rojuro as well. It is good to have you back."

"Oi!" Hiyori shouted, unable to keep quiet this time. "Why don't _we_ get mentioned, huh!"

Everybody chuckled, relaxing. "Of course, Sarugaki Hiyori," the Captain-Commander said, smiling fondly at her as if he was her grandfather. "You all are unforgettable."

"That's nice, Yama-jii," Ichigo said, "But what's up with the welcome party?"

"We have gathered to welcome back our colleagues, Kurosaki-kun," Yamamoto replied. "It is only proper."

"Yeah, and we know how important being proper is, don't we?" Shinji said.

The tension rose instantly. Everyone in the Gotei 13 looked uncomfortable, while the vizards drew minutely closer together and stared at their former colleagues.

Ukitake-taicho finally broke the silence. "Well, of course being proper has its place. Sometimes it's necessary to be improper to do what is right, isn't that so, Kurosaki-kun?" He smiled gently at the orange-haired shinigami.

Much of the tension dissipated as Ichigo nodded, grinning slowly. "Damn straight." Byakuya winced slightly and shifted his stance a tiny bit, wishing that the teenager didn't have to be so vulgar all the time. His thoughts drifted to another vulgar redhead standing only a few feet away, and then he brought himself back to the present with a sharp shake. Of _all_ the times to think about his courter!

Yamamoto was talking again. "…And of course, you will be treated with the utmost respect and deference by the squads. Residences have been prepared for you —"

"Wait, hold up, Yama-jii," Hiyori interrupted. "We're not stayin'. We're jus' here ta make sure things start changing, that's all. We don't trust you guys. And we don't like Seireitei. So talk about changin' the way things are done around here, and then maybe we'll stick around."

Yamamoto's eyes widened, and he drew himself upright, his reiatsu pulsing slightly. "You _dare_ —"

"Yeah, I dare," Hiyori snapped, drawing herself up to her full 133 cm. "I dare because I can do _this_." In a flash she pulled her mask over her face, and everybody froze.

"Oh shit," Renji mumbled.

* * *

**I had something that I was gonna say down here, but I completely forgot what it was...hmmm...**

**Oh well. It clearly wasn't that important. DX My birthday was yesterday...I'm finally legal...yay...*waves tiny little flag listlessly* I can make stupid decisions all on my own now...**

**I really liked this chapter. Hope you all did too. Please review.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

Nobody moved. Hiyori's mask grinned emptily at them all. Muscles locked and ready for a fight, Ichigo stared at the Gotei 13 carefully.

Soi Fon had half-drawn her sword, always suspicious and ready for a fight. Her tiny body was so tense it was almost vibrating, she was so ready for Yamamoto's order to attack. All of the other shinigami had tensed as well, hands on their sword hilts. Perhaps the only three who hadn't were Renji, who knew the vizards (even if he'd never seen them transform); Unohana, who wouldn't get tense even if a raging army of arrancar was bearing down on her; and Ichimaru, who Ichigo assumed knew all about the vizards and their powers. Besides, the silver-haired traitor didn't have his sword, so there wasn't much he could do if he did get attacked—kido wouldn't do much to stop a vizard.

"Hiyori," Shinji said quietly.

Hiyori reached up and drew her mask off her face, leaving it perched on the side of her head. "Y'all look like you've seen a ghost!" she cackled.

"Please refrain from doing that in the future, Hiyori-chan," Yamamoto sighed. He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted.

"How fascinating!" Kurotsuchi hissed. "It seems that you have truly turned into a monster, Sarugaki!"

Hiyori gave him a scornful look.

The creepy captain either didn't see it, or ignored it, because he continued, "I shall have to devise some experiments—" He didn't get any farther than that. In a blur that was too fast for even Yoruichi to follow, Hiyori was across the space separating the two groups and pinning Kurotsuchi to the ground by his throat.

"Don't even try it, you bastard," she growled into his face. Ignoring the blades pressed against her throat and belly, she continued, "I am infinitely stronger than you could ever be. You have _no_ idea what I could do to you." She released him and stood up, still ignoring the blades that followed her movements. "So don't try and test me. You won't win."

"Hiyori," Shinji groaned.

"_What_, baldy?" Hiyori snapped, turning and rejoining her companions.

"We're trying to _get along_ with these people, not threaten them," the blond sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I _am_ getting along! This is me getting along!"

"No, this is you one-upping your rival," Urahara sang, fan fluttering madly.

"You hush yerself!" Hiyori said angrily, aiming a kick at Urahara's balls, which he expertly avoided. "It's yer fault that idiot took over yer position! You should do somethin' about that!"

"Not to interrupt or anything," Renji said (with every intention of doing so), "But if you're _not_ staying here permanently, what _are_ you guys doin' here?"

The exiles all refocused their attention on the redheaded captain. "That's a very good question, Abarai-kun," beamed Urahara, making a small crease form in between Byakuya's eyebrows. He didn't like the way the perverted shopkeeper spoke to his intended. But Urahara kept talking, and the noble focused back in on what he was saying.

"We are here to make sure some changes start happening in the governing of Seireitei, to ensure that another Aizen never appears. There are some glaring problems with Soul Society, and we want to make sure they get fixed."

—

"Fuckin' A," Renji sighed, yanking the tie out of his hair and kicking off his sandals haphazardly as he made his way further into his apartment. Today had been an absolute _fucker_ to deal with.

There had been quite a bit of argument over Urahara's little speech. All of the captains had had an opinion on that, and all of them were determined to say it. Hisagi had practically pissed himself he was so excited to see Muguruma–taicho again, and had spent most of the time talking to the burly vizard, which had pissed off Ichimaru and made him jealous, and nobody had noticed except for Renji…Renji let out a long groan, releasing all of the stress of the day. It was a very good thing he had noticed Ichimaru's scowl, or Very Bad Things could have happened. The ex-captain was scary, even with reiatsu suppressors on.

_Dammit. Wish those two would fuckin' figure it out already and either fuck or get over each other. It's throwin' both of them completely off._

The redhead let out a huge sigh as he flopped onto his couch, closing his eyes for a moment.

_Byakuya hasn't spoken to me for days._

Renji's face scrunched in a scowl, and he rolled onto his side in aggravation. _Have I screwed this up already? I haven't, right? The ball's still in his court. I can't do anything until he does. So why the silent treatment?_ He knew, of course, that Byakuya was a very busy man, with many responsibilities. The noble might simply have been too busy to contact his similarly busy lover.

The thought didn't make Renji feel better in the slightest.

_I miss him._

_At least when I was his fukutaicho we were busy together._

Renji growled and sat up abruptly. _This does absolutely nothing! I can't do anything about Byakuya not advancing the courtship, but I can go and talk to him. So that's what I'll do. I'll head over to the 6__th__ Division tomorrow._ He scowled again. _If we're not up to our eyeballs in conspiracy theories and planning sessions for this stupid vizard thing. Dammit, where's some good sake when you need it?_ He rose and meandered into his kitchen, opening cupboard doors and then slamming them shut as they proved to be empty of the alcohol he was looking for.

"Goddammit," he groaned, sliding down the counter to sit on the floor. He leaned his head back against the cabinets behind him, too lazy to think about making something to eat.

_Maybe I should just go to bed…_ But a quick glance out the window nixed that idea. It was only about 5:00 in the afternoon, and the sun was still shining brightly, if a bit low in the sky. "I refuse to go to bed while the sun is still up," Renji mumbled, letting his head thunk against the counter again. He let himself drift for a while, enjoying the silence.

A sharp knock on his door brought Renji out of his meditative state with a start. _Who th' fuck is that?_ None of his friends ever knocked. Renji heaved himself to his feet with a groan and padded into the hallway, opening the door with a yawn.

His jaw snapped shut and he blinked.

Kuchiki Byakuya stood, framed by the late afternoon sunlight, on his doorstep.

The noble spoke before Renji could form a coherent thought. "I was wondering if you would like to take a walk along the riverbank with me, Abarai-taicho."

Renji blinked again. Then a slow grin spread across his face. "I'd love to, Kuchiki-taicho."

* * *

**PLEEEEAAASE DON'T HURT ME! *prostrates* I'M SO SOOOORRRRRYYYYY! When I hit the week before midterms writing just dropped off the map! It was terrible. And then the last half of the semester hit me like a freight train and I just completely forgot about updating! I promise, the next chapter will be out much sooner! Though I can't say much for the chapter after that...Heehee *gets bricked* I LOVE YOU ALL! THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME!**

**~Lara  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**Important A/N at the end! Please read! (After you enjoy the extremely late chapter, of course.)**

* * *

The setting sun cast golden-red rays of light over the quiet countryside, bathing everything in a calm glow. It was the time of day when everything quiets down for the night, before the nighttime crickets and frogs and other creatures began their song. It was a romantic time, where the beauty of the land lent itself to thoughts and declarations of love.

Or at least it should have, Byakuya thought, stealing a glance at his silent companion.

Neither man had spoken since their departure from Renji's house.

Byakuya scowled at the dazzling surface of the river. This should not be so hard! He scolded himself internally. The two of them had never had trouble conversing before; why now, when it was most important? And yet here they were, walking along the chuckling riverbank in complete silence.

And the noble could think of nothing to say.

"This sunset reminds me of the day we met," Renji said.

Byakuya jumped slightly, startled by the sound of the redhead's voice. Stop acting so skittish! He told himself sharply as Renji turned to smile at him, apparently not noticing his small embarrassment. "Do you remember?" the younger man asked. "I had just mastered some skill in the Academy, I can't remember exactly what it was, but I rushed to tell Rukia about it…and there you were."

Byakuya smiled slightly. "I do seem to remember a rather loud interruption as I was trying to convince her to join our clan."

Renji chuckled. "Yeah, that was me. It was the first time I had ever seen a noble up close, and I must say you were very intimidating." He stopped, and turned to face his companion. "It didn't stop me from falling in love with you, though," he said softly.

Byakuya's breath hitched, and he broke eye contact to stare out at the river instead. A blush dusted his cheeks. "Please don't say things like that so lightly, Abarai-taicho."

"Why not? And please call me Renji when we're alone." Renji tilted his head so he could meet Byakuya's eyes again. "You must know how I feel about you. A gold ribbon makes it pretty clear."

The noble's blush deepened, staining his cheeks dark rose. "Yes, but…I am unused to such declarations."

"Then what would you like me to do? I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way. I mean…" Renji let out a frustrated breath. "Please tell me how I can make you look more favorably on me."

At that Byakuya looked up and smiled slightly. "You don't need to do anything other than be yourself, Renji. There's no rush. We have years to get to know each other."

Renji smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, I guess. I just don't want to make a mistake."

In a rare moment of empathy, Byakuya placed a slender hand on Renji's arm. "The Abarai Renji I know does not make mistakes in something so important." Then he quickly removed his hand, cheeks heating again for some reason. "Temporary lapses in sanity, perhaps, but not mistakes." He cleared his throat lightly. "Shall we continue?"

Renji, who was grinning slightly deliriously, made a sound of agreement (he didn't really trust his vocal chords to not embarrass him) and the two taicho continued on their walk.

—

"Oi," Ikkaku frowned, looking around the crowded bar booth. "Where's Renji? He never misses Bar-hopping Night!"

Kira rolled his eyes. "He's holed up in his apartment, trying to write a love letter to Kuchiki-taicho."

Yumichika spewed a mouthful of sake all over the table. Ikkaku's hand slipped, accidentally crushing the sake bottle he was holding and spilling more sake on the table and into Shuuhei's lap. Rangiku lost her balance and smashed her boobs into an innocent bystander's back. Ichigo accidentally inhaled a piece of edamame and started choking.

Kira took another sip of tea.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Yumichika asked, absently reaching over and giving Ichigo a thump on the back. Ichigo's eyes bulged, the edamame came flying out, and he began wheezing in an attempt to get his wind back. Yumichika had forgotten to temper his strength, which says something about how surprised he had been.

Kira sighed. "It's exactly as I said. Renji spends all of the time when he's not in the office trying to write Kuchiki-taicho a love letter. Don't even try to convince him to come out. It's not pretty."

The group gaped for a long moment. If the bar hadn't been so loud, they could have heard crickets chirping. Finally Rangiku squealed, pushing herself off of the innocent bystander (who promptly fell over in a dead faint) and squeezing back into their booth. "How romantic!"

"They certainly make a beautiful couple," Yumichika agreed.

Rangiku nodded soberly—or, if not _soberly_, at least with great conviction. "Imagine what they must look like in bed together!" she said excitedly. "Renji's red hair, tan skin, and black tattoos against the contrast of Kuchiki-taicho's fair unblemished skin and fierce grey eyes!"

She and Yumichika stared off into the distance at something only they could see, while the men stared at them in absolute horror. The crickets made another silent appearance.

Finally Yumichika sighed. "Like I said," he declared, "A very beautiful couple. I suppose I approve."

"I'm sure Renji will be very glad to hear that," Shuuhei said, engaging in a furious but silent struggle with Ikkaku to keep the bald man's mouth shut. Fortunately Ikkaku had already imbibed more than his share of alcohol, so the new captain's job was easier than it might have otherwise been.

"Of course he will be glad!" Yumichika made a grand sweeping motion with his hand, spilling a bit of the sake in the shallow dish clutched firmly in his fingers. "I am the _only_ authority on beauty."

"Spilling your sake isn't beautiful," Shuuhei observed tactlessly, then nearly slapped himself in the face. He must have drunk more than he thought, to even suggest that Yumichika did something that wasn't beautiful!

Thankfully the fashion-conscious man was quite sloshed as well, for he only graced the scarred captain with a withering frown for a moment. "I have done it," he declared haughtily, "Therefore it is beautiful."

Shuuhei considered that statement. He supposed it made sense.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Ikkaku wrenched free and took a huge gulp of air. "Dammit, Hisagi, ya coulda suffocated me!" he glared.

"Oh, oops." Shuuhei had actually completely forgotten about the bald man. The possibility of Death by Yumichika certainly rearranged your priorities.

Yumichika giggled. Fucking _giggled_. "Aw, does Ikku-chan need comforting?" he crooned. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big bad captain." He snuggled into Ikkaku's side, who, like the smart man that he (usually) was, looked terrified. Kira smirked, taking another sip of tea.

His friends were hilarious when drunk.

* * *

**IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! EVERYONE PLEASE READ!**

**I'm so sorry everyone. Really, truly sorry. College has caught me up in a whirlwind of stress and deadlines, and I have for the most part left ff. net entirely. I now mainly post over on livejournal and will eventually transfer all of my stories over there. I'll still post here, but that's where you'll hear news on new projects and what's going on with my stories and stuff. If you guys want to follow me over there, my journal is goldintheshadow. livejournal. com. I don't have any Bleach fics up there yet, but if there are any DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki fans among my readers, you are welcome to read what I've written and spazz with me. :D I think this story is going to be shorter than I originally planned, because I'm focusing on other things now. It WILL be finished, because I like this story a lot and I really want to finish it. It will just take a while, unless I can buckle down and finish it in the next week or so. We'll see how it goes. Thank you guys for sticking with me and my erratic updating!**

**~Lara  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**I LIVE! XD And you all have Ichi Ni San SASUKE to thank for this, because her wonderful review got me off my butt and writing again. So this chap is dedicated to her! On a more serious note, I have decided that there will be five more chapters to this story, for a total of 25. Much will happen. XD I am very excited. Thank you all for sticking with me and leaving me reviews even when I don't update for months! You all are wonderful!**

—

-Chapter Twenty-

—

Ichigo hesitated at the door to Renji's apartment, frowning. There was something strange about the reiatsu in his friend's apartment; it seemed much denser and heavier than usual. Shrugging mentally, he pushed the door open.

"Renji?" he called out, toeing off his sandals in the entryway and frowning again. That strange reiatsu was even stronger now that he was inside. Then, as the orange-haired shinigami began heading further into the apartment, it suddenly separated, and Ichigo stumbled, eyes going wide.

Byakuya's and Renji's reiatsu had been _very_ close indeed.

"I'm, uh," Ichigo hastily backpedaled, not wanting to walk in on any unwanted sights, "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out and do a bit of sparring, but uh, yeah, I'll talk to you later!" And he slipped on his shoes and fled.

"It is good that you have friends, Renji," Byakuya said, adjusting his haori carefully.

"Ah, yeah," Renji grinned taking another calculated step back from the temptation of a kiss-mussed Byakuya with slightly tousled hair and swollen lips and the sexiest bedroom eyes he'd ever seen…

Renji locked his hands behind his back firmly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I got a little carried away."

Byakuya shook his head. "We both did," he replied. "And it was a very nice distraction indeed. But unfortunately we cannot go any further than this until after we are bonded, I hope you are aware of that."

Renji nodded, a goofy grin threatening to take over his lips. _After we're bonded,_ he thought giddily. _As if it's definitely going to happen!_

Byakuya had come by on a simple mission: to invite Renji on a picnic with him. Renji was the one who had gotten them…distracted. Now that Ichigo had snapped them out of it, the handsome taicho returned to his original goal.

"So, Renji, _would_ you like to go on a picnic with me?" Byakuya asked.

Renji grinned. "Of course, taicho. I'd love to."

Byakuya nodded sharply, trying to avoid looking at his sexy lover. He was afraid of what his reaction would be if he saw that wild grin on those lips that he'd just been kissing. "All right. I will make the arrangements. Please meet me with your chaperone at the South gate." He left abruptly, no longer trusting himself in the same room as Renji. Unfortunately his departure caused him to miss Renji's confused look and his equally confused question.

"Chaperone? Wait, what?"

—

"I can't believe the nobles require us to be _chaperoned_," Renji growled, shifting restlessly. "It's like we're five years old and can't be trusted on our own."

"Well, to be perfectly frank, you _can't_ be trusted on your own, as your encounter earlier this morning should have proven," Ukitake-taicho said, waving his fan gently in an attempt to dispel some of the heat.

Renji flushed, scuffing his toes in the dirt. "Well, that…that was…"

"Was exactly what we should expect from two young in-love men left alone for a period of time," Ukitake said gently. "It's nothing to worry about. But you two _are_ courting, and there are certain ways these things are done."

"Yeah, I know," Renji mumbled, eyes lighting up as he sighted his taicho walking toward them. "Look, here he comes!"

Ukitake smiled, watching Renji watch his beloved. It was incredibly sweet, the way his whole face brightened and softened at the sight of the older noble.

"Good afternoon, Abarai-taicho, Ukitake-taicho," Byakuya greeted them, eyes only on Renji. "I hope we have not kept you waiting long."

"Not at all, Kuchiki-taicho," Renji murmured quietly, eyes locked on Byakuya's. "We were early."

Byakuya smiled, and Ukitake took a breath in, before smiling and fluttering his fan. Byakuya had not smiled like that in far too long.

"We—ah—I brought you a gift," Renji stammered after a sharp poke from Ukitake. "I hope you like it." He held out a box wrapped in beautiful hand-made, hand-painted paper.

"I'm sure I will," Byakuya smiled, taking the box and handing it to one of the retainers who, Renji imagined, must be carrying their picnic, if the boxes and bags were anything to go by. "I have also brought you something." He handed over a similarly wrapped box.

"Thank you, taicho," Renji said, beaming as he accepted it. "Shall we?" He gestured.

"Of course," Byakuya replied, and the group fell in behind the couple as they began walking.

"Ukitake-taicho," a voice said, and Ukitake turned to see Kuchiki Chieko next to him. "I see you've been roped into this as well."

"Chieko-san! It's been a very long time," Ukitake said, smiling. "You are Byakuya's official chaperone, I presume?"

"Yes," the thin, formidable woman said, sticking her hands into her sleeves as she watched the young couple ahead of them. "_Why_ Byakuya could not have courted someone like _you_ instead…"

Ukitake laughed slightly nervously. "Now, Chieko-san, you know that anything between Byakuya and myself is impossible."

"Yes," the older woman sighed, "I know. And that boy has balls, presenting our Byakuya with a golden ribbon. We'll see how he does over the next few decades. Perhaps he'll prove himself worthy of my nephew."

Ukitake smiled and fluttered his fan, silently wishing Renji good luck in his courtship. The oblivious redhead was going to need it.

Up ahead of them, Renji and Byakuya talked softly of the Gotei 13 and their divisions, the conversation eventually coming around to Ichimaru and Shuuhei. Their conversation lasted through the setting up of lunch under some beautiful willow trees, and continued throughout the meal and for a while afterwards as well. Renji, to Byakuya's surprise, could converse at least superficially on many topics, and the noble's view of his courter rose.

Finally Renji said, "Would you like to open your gift, taicho? I'd like to see what you think."

Byakuya blinked, having almost completely forgotten about it. "Oh! Yes, I'd like to see what you got me." He gestured for one of the retainers to bring it over. "Then will you open yours at the same time?"

"Of course," Renji replied, accepting the box from Ukitake, who had been keeping it for him. He turned to face Byakuya again. "On three, ready? One…two…three!"


	21. Chapter 21

**Oh hai. :D Ohisashiburi desu! *ducks missiles***

**I know it has been over half a year since I've updated, and I'm sorry. I really have no other excuse beyond the fact that life is busy and my muse for this story is on its deathbed. But, like I said, I am finishing it, with four more chapters to go after this one. I hope you all enjoy it and wait patiently even though it might take me another six months to get out the next chapter. Thank you for reading!**

—

—Chapter Twenty-one—

—

"On three, ready? One…two…_three_!"

In a smooth movement, Renji and Byakuya both pulled the paper off of their gifts, revealing beautiful handmade boxes underneath. Slowly the two captains opened the lids together, their eyes widening in astonishment.

"Oh," Renji breathed, reaching into the box and pulling out an exquisitely tooled leather belt and sheath, stylized baboons and teeth marks representing his zanpakuto stamped deep into the leather. "Taicho…This is _beautiful_."

"I quite feel the same, Renji," Byakuya replied, removing his own gift, a book of poetry written by one of Byakuya's ancestors. "Where did you _find_ this?"

"Oh," Renji grinned sheepishly. "It's amazing what you come across in the course of your duties."

Byakuya's lips thinned in an attempt to not smile. He imagined that there was probably much more to that story than Renji was letting on. "Indeed." He brushed his fingers across the cover of the book reverently. "I shall cherish this. Thank you, Renji."

"You're welcome, Byakuya." Renji's fingers traced the styling on the leather belt unconsciously as he watched his lover. "I hope that you will permit me to give you similar gifts in the future."

Byakuya looked up and finally could not prevent a small smile from breaking through his façade. "I think that would be most acceptable."

—

"Ichigoooo…" Renji twirled into his friend's temporary room, grin threatening to split his face in two. He flopped face first onto the bed and wriggled slightly, unable to contain his joy at the memory of the absolutely perfect date he'd just had with Byakuya. He popped his head up and turned his smile on his friend, who was sitting on the floor reading a book and firmly ignoring him. "I think I might actually have a chance at marrying him, Ichigo!"

Ichigo snorted and turned a page, still ignoring him. Renji frowned and rolled off the bed, straight into the orange-haired boy. "Hey. Pay attention to me."

Ichigo shoved his face away, still attempting to read his book. "I have no interest in the minute details of your courtship, Renji. I nearly walked in on you and Byakuya this morning and that was quite enough for me."

Renji flushed and scowled, propping his chin on his fists as he lay on his stomach and stared at his friend. "That was a special case and hopefully won't happen again until Byakuya is more firmly committed to this relationship."

"He seems pretty committed already," Ichigo muttered, turning another page. Finally fed up with being ignored, Renji uttered a war cry and launched himself on top of Ichigo, sending his book flying. The two redheads tussled on the floor, each trying their damnedest to pin the other. They were only interrupted when Ichigo's door flew open and Urahara sailed in, his single visible eye widening at the sight greeting him.

"Oh my," he trilled, fan fluttering wickedly in front of his face. "And what are you two up to, hmm?"

Renji and Ichigo glared at him from the floor. "Wha're you doin' here, Ge'aboshi!" Ichigo growled, somewhat hampered by the hand Renji had pressing his head back into the floor.

"I had wanted to talk to you about some things," Urahara replied breezily, "But I can see you're…_busy_."

Ichigo shoved Renji off and Renji went willingly, too busy laughing hysterically at the idea that they were doing something sexual. The orange-haired shinigami aimed a kick at his idiot friend, ears going red as he scowled at his teacher. "Next time knock, you idiot! This is my room!"

"Of course, Ichigo," Urahara purred, fluttering his fan suggestively. "We wouldn't want you to be caught in any…_embarrassing_ situations."

Ichigo kicked him out the door, his entire face red now. "You wait outside!" he said. "I'll be out in like ten minutes, we can talk about your super-important things then!" He slammed the door on Urahara's laughing face, only to come face-to-face with an inquisitive Renji staring at him. "Um…what?" he asked nervously.

"What," Renji said, "Was _that_?"

"Nothing," Ichigo said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just Urahara being stupid as usual."

"I didn't mean that, though that's part of it," Renji said. "I meant your reaction to him. Is there something going on between the two of you? I've _never_ seen either of you act like that around anyone else. It was supremely bizarre."

Ichigo went, if possible, even redder. "Nothing's going on!" he snapped. "Now get your butt out of here, I gotta go talk to Urahara."

"Okay, okay," Renji agreed. "But don't think this topic is closed. This is not the first time I've noticed something weird about you two, and don't think that just because I'm busy courting my own partner that I don't notice things." He gave Ichigo one last look, then grinned and waved, hopping out the window.

Ichigo let his head thunk back against the door and groaned. "Fuuuck. Why do people keep asking me about this when I don't even know myself?" Sighing, he threw on a pair of shoes and left his room to talk to his perverted sensei.

—

"Hey," Ichigo said, dropping down next to Urahara. "So what's the big deal, huh?"

Urahara turned to face him, his fan fluttering gently. "Oh, not much. I was just wondering about your decision to become fukutaicho. Have you accepted yet?"

Ichigo scowled and looked away across the rooftops of Seireitei. "No. I'm pretty damn sure I want the job, but I haven't told Renji yet. He'd been so busy with the start of this courtship thing…"

Urahara nodded, humming thoughtfully. "Well, that should settle down soon. They've mostly gotten past the initial stages now, and will just be spending lots of time together with an occasional ceremonial demonstration. There are certain landmarks, but overall it will become much less public now."

Ichigo gave him a suspicious look. "You sure know a lot about it, old man. Ever courted anyone?"

"Oh my goodness no," Urahara said, smiling. "And I don't plan on it. A life with me is not something to be desired. So, shall we train?"

Ichigo blinked. "Um, sure." He followed his sensei off to a training ground, deciding to think more about it some other time.

—

Life in Seireitei settled down after that, everyone relaxing from the tension that had been prevalent across the city. Ichigo took up the position of fukutaicho with much grumbling and fights with Renji. The Fifth Division was getting used to replacing doors and furniture, as one of their taicho were constantly getting tossed around. It brought a much-welcomed life into the otherwise very quiet division.

Ichigo was happy with the situation. He enjoyed being a fukutaicho very much, and visited his family and friends in Karakura often. The Vizards were hanging out as well, taking a look and giving their opinions on the governing of Seireitei.

The only thing worrying him was Urahara.

The old captain had become very quiet, wandering around the city and watching everything from below the brim of his striped hat. Ichigo didn't know what the man was thinking, but it seemed serious, and that worried him. His teacher always brushed it off whenever he tried to bring up the subject, so Ichigo just tried to get the man to spar with him as much as possible and hoped it helped distract him a bit.

The situation came to a head one otherwise quiet day, when Ichigo felt Urahara's reiatsu spike from all the way across the city. His head shot up, startled, and he nearly overturned a pile of reports as he tried to pull on his zanpakuto and reach the door at the same time.

He slammed open his door just as Renji slammed open his, shouting, "Ichigo!"

"I know," Ichigo said, tightening his sword belt with a last yank. "It's over by the Twelfth. What is he doing?"

They dashed across the city, using shunpo to skate along the rooftops. Other captains and vice-captains were heading in the same direction, and Ichigo skidded to a halt before he could run into Kenpachi's back. He wiggled his way through the crowd until he could see, and his mouth fell open.

Urahara was standing in the middle of a still-smoking blast zone, zanpakuto out and held quietly at his side. He was facing off against Kurotsuchi, who looked shocked behind all of his face paint. Neither shinigami acknowledged their audience.

"What is going _on_?" Ichigo whispered, stunned.

"Shh," Byakuya murmured next to him. "I believe Urahara Kisuke is challenging Kurotsuchi for captaincy."

Ice cascaded down Ichigo's spine, and his eyes fixed on his sensei. "_What_?"

"Shh," Byakuya murmured again, and Renji laid an arm around Ichigo's shoulders comfortingly.

"It'll be okay," his friend muttered gruffly. "You know Urahara. There's no way he would lose to that sadist."

Ichigo was not reassured—quite the opposite, in fact, as he remembered every time he'd seen Kurotsuchi fight (which wasn't that often, to be honest, the coward). Kurotsuchi did not fight fairly. At all. He used tricks and traps and, if necessary, treachery. If Urahara did not win, he would most likely die.

From the center of the blast zone, Urahara finally spoke. His voice was measured and even, but cold rage filled every syllable. "I challenge you, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, to one-on-one combat for the captaincy of Division Twelve."

Kurotsuchi was silent for a moment, before laughing softly. "Of course, Urahara. I accept. I am surprised that you think you can beat me, however. I will enjoy experimenting on your body."

Ichigo bared his teeth, fear-tinged rage filling him at those words. His short nails dug into his palms, and he spared a brief thought that he would most likely be bleeding before the fight was over.

"Cry," Urahara said softly. "Benihime." His reiatsu washed over the crowd as his shikai was released.

Kurotsuchi seemed slightly taken aback, but did the same. The air trembled as the two powerful reiatsu met, and then tore as the shinigami met in battle.

Half of the time Ichigo was unaware of what was happening, his vision obscured by dust and flying rock as the ground shuddered under his feet. The other half of the time he felt as though a scream was constantly caught in his throat as he watched possibly the most vicious battle he had ever seen. Kurotsuchi was predictably sadistic and cowardly, using various special inventions in attempts to take his opponent down. But Urahara…Urahara was relentless. He moved forward steadily, eyes never leaving his opponent and showing no visible reaction to Kurotsuchi's taunts and attempts at mind-fuckery. Some of the words blew to them on the wind, and Ichigo could feel his nails piercing his palms at the absolute baseness of the twelfth division captain's tactics.

One such comment finally had an effect, Urahara drawing back slowly to stand still, staring at his opponent. His hat had been lost an hour ago, as had his outer robe, lost to an acid attack. His clothes were dusty and ripped, and he was bleeding in a few places, but he had only just begun breathing heavily—unlike Kurotsuchi, who was panting as though he was running a marathon. The twelfth division captain allowed the pause, taking the moment to gather himself and grin widely.

"What did he say?" Ichigo whispered, standing on tiptoe as if that would help him see better. "Did anyone catch it?"

Yachiru giggled from atop Kenpachi's broad shoulder. "I think he said something about _you_, Berry-tan!"

"Me?" Ichigo frowned, looking back at the battleground. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would an insult about me get Urahara riled up?"

Renji chuckled. "I wonder. Just watch, Ichigo. I think the fight's almost over."

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" Kurotsuchi's sickly sweet voice floated faintly to them in the silence. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you cared so much for that orange-haired brat." He made as if to continue, but Urahara attacked, and his words were lost in a shriek.

Ichigo gasped in awe. If he thought Urahara had been intent before, it was nothing to now. He was utterly relentless, pressing forward constantly despite Kurotsuchi's frantic defense. In desperation the captain called out his bankai, and the release of reiatsu made Urahara pause for a moment—but only a moment.

"Foolish." The word drifted faintly to their ears, and Ichigo's eyes widened and then shut as the ground shuddered and groaned beneath their feet, and the air shrieked above them. He stumbled, grasping tightly onto Renji to keep his balance, feeling sand and rocks graze his face.

Then the world settled, and everything fell silent.

Ichigo opened his eyes and desperately searched for his sensei's form, panic rising in his throat as he couldn't see anything through the slowly settling dust. "Kisuke!" he cried. "_Kisuke_!" He shot forward, wrenching out of Renji's grip and ignoring the shouts from behind him, desperately running toward the last place he had seen the combatants. He couldn't feel any reiatsu. At all. _What had happened?_

As the dust settled further, his eyes caught the massive form of Kurotsuchi's bankai, lying still and unmoving. He dashed for it, heart in his throat.

Kisuke was kneeling next to Kurotsuchi, hands clenched around the hilt of his zanpakuto, which was buried deep in the captain's chest.

"You…have not…defeated me…yet," Kurotsuchi rasped, coughing. "I cannot die!"

"Yes," Urahara replied, "I have. And everyone dies, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Even death gods." With a jerk, he dragged his sword down Kurotsuchi's body, effectively gutting him.

With a last wailing shriek, Kurotsuchi Mayuri fell silent for the last time. His bankai form shivered and then melted away, leaving his broken human form lying in the dust, looking frail and empty to have harbored one of the most sadistic men in history.

Urahara yanked his sword from the man's body and wavered once before collapsing. Ichigo dashed forward and caught his shoulders, letting the man fall against his body.

"Kisuke," he said urgently. "_Kisuke_, look at me." He felt the other division leaders crowd around them but didn't remove his gaze from his teacher's face.

Urahara's eyes were barely open, and a weak smile flitted across his face. "Ichigo," he murmured. "I won, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Ichigo replied, holding back his tears through a supreme effort of will. "You're captain of the Twelfth again."

"Good," Urahara sighed, eyes closing completely. "I couldn't let…that guy…destroy my division…anymore…" he slumped in Ichigo's arms, unconscious.

"Kisuke," Ichigo said, panicked. He looked up at the crowd. "Where's Unohana!"

"Here, Kurosaki-kun," Unohana said calmly, kneeling next to him. Fourth Division members began pushing through the crowd to help their captain. Unohana did a quick scan of his body, then carefully lifted him onto a stretcher held by some of her members. "He's very weak, but he should be okay with a lot of rest as long as Kurotsuchi did no long-lasting damage. Don't worry." She moved calmly away with the stretcher, the Fourth Division members scurrying around her as she gave them orders.

Ichigo stared after it, numb. The Vizards slowly trickled out of the crowd to stand by him as well, all of them staring after the still form of their unofficial leader. Renji pushed in and curled an arm around his shoulders. "Come on," he said quietly. "You can visit him later. Let's get you home."


	22. Chapter 22

**Well hi everybody. I will be very surprised if any of my original readers are still following this story, but I hope this chapter will generate new interest. It's been a very stressful eight months, as I'm sure anyone else in college can attest, so I'm sorry this had to take so long, but...meh. I'm out of the Bleach fandom now, so...it takes a lot of work to dredge up energy for this story. But I'm pretty sure I have a plan for the last three chapters, so please look forward to it. Everything will be wrapped up relatively well, relatively soon.**

**I would really like to thank all of the people (over 200!) who have left reviews on this work, even though I'm just about the crappiest updater in the history of updating. Please never underestimate the power of a review. They really do keep writers like me (aka the lazy, unmotivated ones) going. I hope you all enjoy!**

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**—**

Things in Seireitei were very tense for the next month. Urahara Kisuke did not wake up, and the resultant anxiety caused tempers to shorten across the city. Ichigo was next to useless, constantly worried about his sensei, visiting the Fourth Division whenever he had the chance. Renji tried to support him as much as he could, but now juggling intermittent guard duty on Gin, his own division, patrols, and courting Byakuya, the redhead was already spread very thin.

He dropped by one day in the early evening, before heading off to find some dinner. Ichigo was sitting stone-faced next to Urahara's bed, staring at the blonde's face as if he could make the older man wake up merely by the power of his stare.

"Hey," Renji said quietly. "How you doing?"

At first it didn't seem as if Ichigo heard him. Then the younger boy sighed and turned to look at him. "I'm fine."

Renji's lip curled. "I call massive, epic, mind-blowing _bullshit_."

Ichigo's hands clenched around each other in his lap. "What the fuck are you—"

"You are so _not_ okay, Ichigo," Renji said, "that it makes my _brain_ hurt. You spend the vast majority of your free time here in the infirmary, you're useless for anything other than active patrols, and I don't even think you're eating. You're an utter mess. This has got to stop. Urahara will wake up, or he won't, but you sitting here pining away like a girl in a romance novel is not going to make a difference either way."

Ichigo shot to his feet, face turning red and fists clenching in anger. "He _will_ wake up, you asshole, don't even _think_ that he won't, I am gonna kick your ass so hard—"

The door to the room slid open, and Ichimaru Gin entered, effectively derailing Ichigo's statement. The silver-haired prisoner stood there for a moment, just to make sure the hostile atmosphere in the room had been completely doused, before saying, "Visitor hours are over, Kurosaki-kun. Time to go."

Renji arched an eyebrow. He hadn't known that Unohana was allowing Gin to do rounds on his own. Well, the scary captain must have had her reasons, he guessed. "C'mon, Ichigo," he said. "Let's go get some dinner."

—

Urahara woke up, of course, when the Fifth Division was out on patrol, because that's the way the world works. Ichigo returned to find a message waiting for him from the Fourth, and he shunpoed over there so fast he nearly broke the sound barrier.

Unohana met him at the door, Ichimaru in tow. "He's asleep again, Kurosaki-kun," she said, cutting across him before he could even get started. "He was only awake for a brief time this afternoon, but now that he's woken and I've been able to assess his mental state, as well as put him into a more natural healing sleep, I can confidently assure you that he will be totally fine."

Ichigo sagged, nearly collapsing onto the floor. "Can I see him?" he asked. "Even though he's sleeping?"

Unohana pursed her lips slightly, but nodded. "Be sure not to wake him up," she warned. "Now that he's in a natural sleep, he can be woken much more easily. He needs the rest right now."

Ichigo nodded and strode down the familiar hallway, vaguely aware of Ichimaru following behind him. Urahara was just about the only patient in long-term care, the abilities of shinigami and the powers of the Fourth Division meaning only the most severe injuries and illnesses lasted longer than a day or two. The fukutaicho slid the door open quietly and paused for a moment, drinking in the still form on the bed before moving to stand next to him.

Kisuke looked so much better. Before, when he had been in a coma, he had been unnaturally still—no one had been home. Now, even in sleep he looked present, as though he might open his eyes at any minute and make a lewd joke. Ichigo had to swallow a lump in his throat at the thought that now he really could do that.

He brushed the tips of his fingers along the blanket. "Get better soon, Kisuke," he whispered, before turning and walking out.

—

Byakuya sighed as he stood in the doorway leading to his private garden, breathing in the various soothing scents in an effort to calm himself. It worked, to a moderate extent, although anger still simmered in his blood.

His family was not entirely happy with his decision to accept Renji's courtship.

He knew this would happen; of course he did. He could still remember the cold war that had taken place just so he could marry Rukia's sister. But Renji was a shinigami, a _taicho_, and entirely worthy of courting him. The only issues the elders had were in his bloodline, and the fact that they would have no heirs.

It was enormous pressure, at a time when more pressure was the last thing that Byakuya needed.

The long-haired taicho sighed and stepped barefoot into his garden, feet sinking delicately into the grass as he made his slow way around the pond. He settled cross-legged between two trees, resting his hands on his knees and closing his eyes to begin meditation. As he breathed slowly in and out, Byakuya let his mind empty of everything that had bothered or worried him over the past month. It took a long time.

Finally, when his mind was still and calm, he turned his focus to his courting…to Renji.

Renji was…strength, and fire, and impatience. The younger shinigami was always moving, always talking, always ready for the next thing. His attention, when caught, was intense and unwavering. Byakuya had had the experience of coming under that attention for the first time with this courting, and it was making him feel off-balance and slightly unprepared.

Which came to the crux of all of his frustrations.

_Did_ he really want to bond with Renji, for the rest of their (possibly extremely long) lives?

He didn't know.

Letting out a tiny sigh through his nose in frustration, Byakuya tried a different tack. He turned his attention to the way he felt around Renji, when they spent time together as taicho, as lovers, and as simple shinigami. Could he imagine being that way for the rest of his life?

Byakuya's eyes slowly opened on the garden.

He didn't know that either.

—


End file.
